The conference report for HB 1944, the Children’s Promise Act bill, adds the $6-million in tax credits for nonpublic special purpose schools that we told you about last week. Special purpose schools are private schools that serve students with a special need or learning disability.
These special purpose schools typically have fewer than 100 students and already receive state funding through three different special education voucher programs (ESA vouchers, dyslexia vouchers, and speech-language vouchers). Some of them receive additional state appropriations for as much as $1-million.
This $6-million in tax credits reduces the state funding available for things like a teacher pay raise. In a year when the state says it doesn’t have sufficient funding to provide a meaningful teacher pay raise, it is unacceptable that additional funds would be carved out for any nonpublic schools.
You will recall that, when this bill was debated in the Senate last week, Sen. Blount offered an amendment to redirect the $9-million in current private school tax credits to special purpose schools, a move that would accomplish what the new tax credits aspire to achieve without costing the state any additional funding. That amendment almost passed, failing with the narrowest possible margin.
If the state can afford to fund private schools at any level, the state can afford a meaningful pay raise for public school teachers.
Ask all legislators to
Vote NO on the HB 1944 conference report or VOTE TO RECOMMIT the report to redirect private school tax credits to special purpose schools
and
Commit every spare dollar to a meaningful teacher pay raise
Find contact information for legislators
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann: 601.359.3200
House Speaker Jason White: 601.359.3300
Capitol Switchboard: 601.359.3770
Our children deserve reasonable class sizes and highly qualified public school teachers, something that is becoming increasingly difficult for public schools to provide as teachers leave the profession due to low salaries. Mississippi’s miracle-working teachers deserve to be compensated like the professionals they are. Diverting any state funding to private schools, then claiming to have insufficient revenue to pay teachers well is a non-starter. Mississippi must do better.
The House and Senate will reconvene at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday) to begin voting on conference reports, so please make those calls right away. Ask your friends and family to call, too. Spread the word at church and ask others to leave messages for legislators with the switchboard at 601.359.3770 (switchboard should be open Sunday afternoon). Our teachers and our children are counting on us, and together, we’ve got this!
