Senate District 8: Candidate Q&A
Candidates for this office were offered a questionnaire on education issues by The Parents’ Campaign. See below for responses received to date.
Kegan Coleman
1. What is your experience with K-12 public schools, personally and/or with your children or family? I’m a product of Mississippi K-12 education, I didn’t make my way to Mississippi from another state. I gained my K-12 education from Calhoun County, Mississippi. I learned my values of hard work, determination, and accountability from small town Mississippi and graduated Valedictorian of my class and now I’m a practicing attorney representing people all over the state. I am currently involved in public education through not only my family with a niece and nephews but children in my community. In the climate of today the location of our public schools determines the resources and tools that are in place for our children. I understand that there is a need to ensure we attract and keep the best talent in Mississippi. I understand that our students and educators deserve to be prepared for anything in life and deserve to have access to the best opportunities. In order to get there we must hold our government to the same standards that we expect from our parents, children, and teachers.
Public education allowed me to fulfill my dreams of becoming an attorney. This is why we must protect public education. We must continue to fight for fully funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) and look for ways to use the State’s upcoming Education Enhancement Fund and make sure funds are geared towards the benefit of our public schools. It is true there is a lot of work that we can do to make our public schools even better. There is certainly work to be done to prepare Mississippi’s children for anything that might come their way, but everything that our children need to prosper can be acquired by public school, we just have to be wiling to make sound investments in them, especially in rural Mississippi.
Now, more than ever, we need people who understand the challenges of public education, who are products of it, and those who are ready to fight for our public schools. We can do this do by sending a message that values Mississippi’s brightest stars, our children, and fully fund MAEP the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.
2. Do you agree that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) should be fully funded every year? If yes, what actions will you take to ensure full funding? If no, explain why. The Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) was passed into law in 1997 and has only been funded four times since 1997. I support fully funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. Our public schools have been underfunded by about 1.5 Billion Dollars since 2008. One of the first things that new businesses look at when they examine an area for investment is the quality of the educational system.
It is clear we are not spending enough on education. Mississippi currently ranks 47th in per student funding. We must make education a priority. In regard to MAEP revisions and making sure it is fully funded, I would like to explore not only law and legislation, but I will also look into alternative formulas especially as it concerns our rural areas where I grew up. These areas are often underfunded just because of their locations and zip codes.
I want to look for alternative ways to fund our education as well. I would like to see our State’s Education Enhancement fund revised as well to take money off the top of any and all proceeds obtained from a State Lottery instead of only a portion after the sales have reached $80 Million. I would also like to see this money used for k-12 public schools as well as pre-K which would pave the way for higher teacher pay raises.
3. What will you do to ensure state revenue that is sufficient to provide all of the services Mississippi’s citizens need to lead productive lives? True enough our state provides a wealth of services to our Mississippi citizens. Currently 40% of Mississippi’s budget comes from the Federal Government. I plan on advocating for the services provided by our state while ensuring we meet our core obligation of providing a quality education by exploring our current revenue streams and increasing those revenue streams by examining alternative methods.
4. Will you oppose vouchers that send taxpayer dollars to private schools, religious schools, home schools, or virtual schools? Why or why not? I value public education and would oppose the sending of taxpayer dollars to private schools, religious schools, home schools, and virtual schools. If Mississippi were to vote to go down an inherently dangerous path of allowing taxpayer dollars to be used on those aforementioned entities, I would hold them to the same standards as our public schools. I constantly ask the question, “Who would oversee accreditation of these schools to ensure our students are prepared for the future?”
We need to ensure these schools are possibly held to stricter standards as the opportunity of social injustice, inherent racism, and possible harm to our youth is exceedingly greater. As an overall obligation to our youth from a preparational standpoint and access standpoint, we would owe it to our students to make sure they are placed in an environment that allows them to have all the advantages that a public education brings while ensuring they are receiving the highest quality of education.
5. Do you agree that all K-12 schools that receive taxpayer dollars, including private voucher schools, should be accountable to taxpayers for the quality of education they provide, using the same accountability measures as public schools? Yes of course I do, and I would advocate for such. These entities may be even should be held to stricter standards because there is a greater opportunity for social injustice, inherent racism, and possible harm to our youth is exceedingly greater.
6. Public schools serve the vast majority of Mississippi students with disabilities. Do you agree that special education services in public schools should be fully funded every year? (Special education has been underfunded by the state every year since 2008.) If yes, how will you accomplish full funding? If no, explain why. Yes, I am aware special education has been underfunded by our state every year since 2008. I pledge to support fully funding special education services in our public schools, so our students are able to obtain testing, interventions and the support they need as we all too often forget about the power of special education. We all too often forget the impact that our educators have on students with disabilities, including those with dyslexia.
We must equip them with the tools and resources that they need in order to perform their jobs to the best of their ability. Special Education has been underfunded by Mississippi since 2008. We have to make sure that we are fully funding our special education through money acquired from any incentized methods as well as examine any monies that are available from the federal government that can be combined with our state budget.
7. Do you agree that Mississippi should provide high quality early childhood education statewide? Yes, I support the continuation, expansion, and adequate funding for high-quality Pre-K, and early childhood educational programs across Mississippi. Currently only 8% of Mississippi’s children have benefited from Pre-K education. My sister benefited from the Pre-K program in Calhoun City, Calhoun County, Mississippi and was beyond ready when she entered kindergarten.
I believe that our Pre-K programs have become a powerful asset for increasing the readiness of our students especially when they are tested in the 3rd Grade under the current readiness guidelines, and I will continue to find ways to make sure the program is expanded across the state.
8. The nation’s top teachers say that the greatest barriers to school success for K-12 students are family stress, poverty, and learning and psychological problems. What steps do you believe legislators should take to alleviate these obstacles for Mississippi children? Yes, these are truly barriers to the success of our K-12 students. We can start by allowing more opportunities for our children to vocalize these concerns. Moreover, we can provide supplies, snacks, clothes, and other necessary resources to our students who experience family stress, poverty, and learning and psychological problems.
At the root, it starts with addressing the issue and making steps to implement programs that address these visualized concerns. We must also make sure that we continue to offer equal academic opportunities to children experiencing these issues as well. I want to work with our school leadership (principals, superintendents, school boards) to identify the systematic issues that stop our children from putting forth their greatest effort in the classroom. I’ve come to discover that our schools have the opportunity to be on the front lines of these discussions as well as shape the lives of these students in order to get them out of difficult situations by investments and instilling the importance of education within the students directly.
9. Do you support raising teacher salaries at least to the level of our neighboring states and raising pay for teacher assistants? Currently Mississippi teachers are ranked 50th in average teacher pay. We can do better than this by investing in the shapers and molders of our children.
Our neighboring states such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee have shown us the benefit of spending more on education. Our neighboring states spend more on education per student for the most part. Politics aside, we must find new and collaborative ways to fund education while ensuring our students are afforded the highest quality teachers by making sure we are compensating our educators in a way that speaks to the vision that we are looking for the highest-quality teachers. Further, outside of compensation there are ways we can attract skilled educators and keep some of our best talent in Mississippi by offering benefits such as skills training, paths to grow as educators, access to low quality loans. I see these as not so much an incentive driven approach but a unique and collaborative approach to foster our growth as a state.
10. Do you agree that retired educators (and other retired state employees) should be able to draw their retirement while serving in the Legislature? Yes I do, this has been a concerning issue amongst both our retired educators and retired state employees and I believe that they should be able to draw while serving in the Legislature. These individuals have given to our state and not being able to draw from their retirement should not be a road block that we put in place to deter those individuals with the experience and desire to give back in an even greater capacity.
11. Legislators have little or no staff to help them understand the many bills they must consider. Before introducing or supporting a bill that could affect public education, will you commit to seeking input from teachers, principals, superintendents, and parents of public school students in your district? Who will be advising you on education policies? I’m an attorney, I’m not going to Jackson to learn the law, I’m going to Jackson to help shape it. This is is why we need advocates in Jackson. I have already made educators a part of my campaign because I want these issues and discussions to be guided by them. I commit that before introducing or supporting a bill that could affect public education, I will commit to seeking the input from teachers, principals, superintendents, and the parents of public school students in my district.
12. Legislators receive tremendous pressure from the leaders of their chamber (House or Senate), state and party leaders, and corporate lobbyists, to vote in ways that may contradict the will of their constituents and harm their communities. How will you respond to this pressure? Yes, they do, the ability to deter from these pressures is already embedded by the profession that I practice daily. That is a sense of professional responsibility to the people that I serve. I have shown and will continue to show this by my actions. I will respond to those pressures by taking a detailed analysis of what is best for my community and make sure they overlap with the interests of the people that have sent me to Jackson. I will offer a sense of transparency to my office through various marketing and media channels to make sure the people know how their tax dollars are being used, which should be for the betterment of the community I serve.
Kathryn York (defeated in primary runoff)
1. What is your experience with K-12 public schools, personally and/or with your children or family? I attended public school for my entire K-12 education. In elementary school, my father was my music teacher and my mother was my Assistant Principal. Both were public school educators until their retirement. I moved to Mississippi to teach at Madison Shannon Palmer High School in Marks, Mississippi. As a choral music teacher, I built a 30+ student choir, got donated choir robes, took students to choral competition, coached the dance team, and chaired the prom committee in my first two years in the classroom. After teaching for four years, I joined staff with Teach For America (a national non-profit that brings new teachers to Mississippi, trains and supports them for their first two years in the classroom, and encourages them to stay in our state).
In 2013, I stepped away from TFA and took on the role of Executive Director for the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, a statewide non-profit organization that celebrates music and literature. In my three-year tenure with Thacker, I launched “Thacker, Jr.” a children’s version of the long-standing show which featured children hosts (and audience members) from the Oxford Elementary School who were participants in the Leap Frog Oxford program (a program that targets academically at-risk students to mentor across the school year).
I returned to work with Teach For America in 2016, as our region’s Chief of Staff, and have the pleasure and privilege to work with ~125 teachers each year. In the Fall of 2018 my oldest child, Emma, started Kindergarten at Davidson Elementary School here in Water Valley. During this year, we have become active members of the PTO, helped invest our community in and pass a school bond issue (at 93.34% pass rate!), brought my dad in to supplement music instruction because our school does not have money for funding that class, and created a teacher’s fund run through the PTO to ensure our teachers have access to funds for big-ticket classroom items that our current school funding would not be able to cover.
2. Do you agree that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) should be fully funded every year? If yes, what actions will you take to ensure full funding? If no, explain why. Yes. MAEP is essential to pursuing an equitable and excellent education for every child in our state. That is especially important in a rural district like District 8. I realize that our state’s resources are limited, and our challenges are great. And, I see high-quality education for every child in our state as *the* path forward for Mississippi.
Fully funding the MAEP formula will mean making tough decisions about allocating resources. Those kinds of decisions require hard conversations, drawing on the power of our teachers and organizations that support teachers and students to put pressure on our legislators, and experience building coalitions of support for our teachers and schools.
My experience in the classroom and our network of public educators makes me confident we can achieve this goal.
3. What will you do to ensure state revenue that is sufficient to provide all of the services Mississippi’s citizens need to lead productive lives? One thing we hear consistently across District 8 is the desire for good-paying, local jobs.
I propose using what we have to build what we need.
Our state has amazing resources, a thriving community college network, and like it or not, our state voted in the lottery. Funds generated by that lottery have been allocated to infrastructure and educational enhancement.
Let’s use that to entice new industry to our state. New companies want a skilled work-force – let’s partner them with a community college who can build the curriculum needed for training. And, using our educational enhancement funds, pay tuition to the community college for folks who will graduate with a marketable skillset, a guaranteed job, and no student debt. That could dramatically shift our economy and generate the kind of revenue that is sufficient to provide all of the services Mississippi citizens need to lead productive lives.
4. Will you oppose vouchers that send taxpayer dollars to private schools, religious schools, home schools, or virtual schools? Why or why not? Yes. I am for a high-quality education for every child in our state. Data and research don’t bear out that private schools support students achieving to a higher degree than public schools.
5. Do you agree that all K-12 schools that receive taxpayer dollars, including private voucher schools, should be accountable to taxpayers for the quality of education they provide, using the same accountability measures as public schools? Yes, absolutely.
6. Public schools serve the vast majority of Mississippi students with disabilities. Do you agree that special education services in public schools should be fully funded every year? (Special education has been underfunded by the state every year since 2008.) If yes, how will you accomplish full funding? If no, explain why. Yes.
We need to work to keep our local, per-pupil funding in the public school system. Private schools are not held to the same accountability standards for special education that our public schools are. 90% of Mississippi’s kids attend public schools – and we should be doing everything we can to provide those schools with the resources they need to truly serve our state’s children.
7. Do you agree that Mississippi should provide high quality early childhood education statewide? Absolutely.
Access to high-quality early childhood education can mean the difference between starting Kindergarten on a level playing field with your peers or starting your K-12 career already behind.
8. The nation’s top teachers say that the greatest barriers to school success for K-12 students are family stress, poverty, and learning and psychological problems. What steps do you believe legislators should take to alleviate these obstacles for Mississippi children? We have to expand medicaid coverage for our state.
With adequate pre- and postnatal care, children are far less likely to develop learning disabilities. And adequate healthcare for children and families leads to less chronic and debilitating illness. Federal medicaid expansion funds could provide for doctors, nurses, pharmacists and even 9-1-1 operators. This is especially important in rural parts of Mississippi, like District 8.
9. Do you support raising teacher salaries at least to the level of our neighboring states and raising pay for teacher assistants? Yes.
10. Do you agree that retired educators (and other retired state employees) should be able to draw their retirement while serving in the Legislature? Yes. We need the valuable perspective of our state’s seasoned educators as part of the conversation when we make decisions that will impact our children and communities.
11. Legislators have little or no staff to help them understand the many bills they must consider. Before introducing or supporting a bill that could affect public education, will you commit to seeking input from teachers, principals, superintendents, and parents of public school students in your district? Who will be advising you on education policies? Yes, before introducing or supporting any bill that could affect public education, I will need to understand how that legislation will play out on the ground for students, teachers, parents, administrators and communities in District 8. I will look to local school board members, school system administrators, and a district-wide advisory board comprised of students, teachers, parents and community leaders to advise me on education policies.
12. Legislators receive tremendous pressure from the leaders of their chamber (House or Senate), state and party leaders, and corporate lobbyists, to vote in ways that may contradict the will of their constituents and harm their communities. How will you respond to this pressure? I am for our brilliant kids here in Mississippi. My decision will always be based on what will be best for the kids in my district and across our state. My daughter is a part of the Davidson Elementary School community – our local, public elementary school. I will always focus for what is best for her and her peers. You can count on me to fight as hard for all kids as I do for my own.
