The 2017 Legislative Session is in the books; the House and Senate finished their work and adjourned sine die this afternoon! Notably, a majority of legislators stood with public school supporters and defeated all voucher bills that would have sent public money to private academies, including the voucher language the Senate had added to HB 1046. That voucher language was removed in conference.
The appropriations process was difficult, as state revenue is spiraling downward, due largely to multiple tax breaks handed out to corporations in recent years. State agencies saw their budgets slashed, and legislators acknowledged that some state workers will likely lose their jobs and services to taxpayers will be diminished as a result. The MAEP is underfunded for next year by almost $214-million and some education programs will surely be lost or greatly reduced. Though schools will find it difficult to absorb these cuts, other state services were cut by an even greater percent. We will send a breakdown of MAEP funding by district and further analysis of the education funding bill as soon as we have it. See the status of all the bills we tracked this legislative session.
Please join us in thanking the legislators who stood with us in support of strong public schools for all Mississippi children.
Find contact information for legislators.
Share the same message with Lt. Governor Reeves and Speaker Gunn:
Lt. Governor Reeves Capitol: 601.359.3200
Speaker Gunn Capitol: 601.359.3300
In the 2017 Legislative Session, Mississippi public school children were well served by the defeat of privatization measures, and they have you and the legislators who stood with you in support of public schools to thank for that. A higher quality of life for every Mississippian is made possible by a well-educated citizenry, and that can happen only when every single child is afforded a good education. Public schools are the lone entity where that can be accomplished – where the doors are open to every child – and that is where public resources should be focused. Your tireless work on behalf of all Mississippi children, most of whom you will never know, will make it so. What a blessing!
