The Legislative Budget Office tells us that the Legislature has an extra $1-billion to spend in the 2023 Legislative Session. Even better, these are recurring dollars – the Budget Office expects this funding to continue in coming years. That extra billion is 3 times what is needed to fully fund the MAEP for the 2023-2024 school year. Our …
Mississippi is flush with cash, and state revenue continues to come in well ahead of projections. Today, Mississippi has $740-million more available to spend for this year than legislators appropriated – an excess that has increased with each passing month. Meanwhile, our public schools are underfunded $279-million. Our teachers and students have proven that when …
At last August’s Senate tax cut hearings, the message from Mississippi’s business and industry leaders and the community at large was clear: DO NOT CUT TAXES; INVEST MORE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION. Then, we asked you to call. And you did. Thousands of you called and urged your legislators to pay the debt they owe our children before …
Legislators Chose to Underfund Your Schools. See How Much. Read More »
The House and Senate have decided the final budget for the state and adjourned the 2022 Legislative Session. This session had some big wins and plenty of disappointments, but be assured that your voice made a big difference. The Good News: Funding for public schools pre-k through grade 12 increased for FY2023 by $326-million, or 7% overall, …
Legislature Finalizes School Funding, Adjourns Sine Die Read More »
The House and Senate worked late into the evening on state budget bills, but some remain unresolved. The public school funding bill passed both chambers, and we are analyzing those numbers for you now. We will have the details for you tomorrow, so stay tuned. Together, we’ve got this!
We won’t have a public school budget bill this weekend. The Legislative leadership acknowledged today that they would not meet the extended deadline for adoption of appropriations and revenue bills. They have extended that deadline once again, this time to April 10, although they are expected to complete the budget bills early next week. Thank …
Gov. Reeves has signed HB 530, the teacher pay raise bill, which makes it official! The salaries of certified teachers will increase by an average of $5,140 and teacher assistants will get a $2,000 pay raise, effective July 1. This is well-deserved good news for our hard-working teachers and assistants! Unfortunately, that’s all the good news …
This morning, we have discovered vouchers hidden in a conference report for an unrelated bill. Worse, the changes in statute are NOT underlined, something that is required to alert legislators to changes in law that are being proposed. HB 1685, a pregnancy resources bill, includes a $2-million increase in an already large tax credit/voucher program, the true …
Vouchers Hidden in Conference Report – Need Calls! Read More »
The Legislature missed tonight’s deadline for a final vote on appropriations bills, and they are expected to extend the session in order to get their work done. We are still waiting for a conference report on the PreK-12 school funding bill. Meanwhile, the Legislature has passed sweeping income tax cuts that will strip $524-million from the …
Legislature Misses School Funding Deadline, Passes Tax Cuts Read More »
How many times have our legislators told us that they value our children, teachers, and public schools, and that they always keep our best interests top of mind when deciding state budget issues? Their actions tell a different story… While public school underfunding has escalated, school buildings have deteriorated, special education resources have fallen short, and …
