Hood Claims Reeves Cut Public Ed Money to Give Favors to Campaign Donors
"It's time to get the money changers out of the temple," Democratic nominee for governor Jim Hood said on Wednesday, standing inside the Italian-white marble walls of the Mississippi Capitol Building rotunda. "I'm talking about Tate Reeves."
Former Gov. Musgrove in Court: Law Requires State to Fund MAEP
The fight to fully fund the state's education funding formula had its day in the Mississippi Supreme Court on Wednesday. Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove told the court that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program must be fully funded in order to follow state law as it is written.
Suing for Fully Funded Education
The fight to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program continues in the courtroom, as two Democrats filed a lawsuit against the governor, the state fiscal officer, the Mississippi Department of Education and the state treasurer.
MAEP Not Funded, But Education Formula Re-Write Must Happen by July 1
The Mississippi Adequate Education Program was not funded in a Department of Education appropriations bill the Mississippi House of Representatives passed Wednesday, signaling that the formula re-write has to happen before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, 2017.
MAEP, Mental Health Among #MSLeg Cuts
Public schools should prepare for more budget cuts, as the Mississippi Adequate Education Program took a hit in the budget lawmakers passed late Monday, March 27.
School Funding Rewrite Won't Happen Under Budget Deadline
The Mississippi House speaker says an effort to rewrite the school funding formula will not be limited by the regular budget deadlines.
MAEP's Future: Legislature Hires New Jersey Firm to Evaluate Education Law
Legislative leaders have hired New Jersey-based nonprofit EdBuild to evaluate the state's school-funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. The State uses MAEP to appropriate tax dollars to school districts throughout the state.
The Demise of Initiative 42
As soon as the Mississippi Legislature proposed an alternative measure to Initiative 42, a citizens' initiative to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, its advocates cried foul, saying the alternate was only there to confuse voters.
Turnout Numbers
On Nov. 3, media outlets reported steady turnout throughout the day in Hinds County, but in the end, the number of Hinds Countians who participated in the 2015 cycle was lower than the previous two cycles.
Outside Influence on 42
Anti-Initiative 42 advocates formed KidsFirst and Improve Mississippi, which were all funded, at least in part, through outside organizations and dollars.
Born into the Wrong Demographic
Failing to pass Initiative 42 punished Mississippi's children simply because they were born into the wrong demographic.
Mississippi Proficiency Levels Dip, as Expected, on New Test
State Superintendent Carey Wright said standards on Mississippi's old tests were too low.
District by District: How Students Scored
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Department of Education has released the share of students in each school district that met or exceeded grade-level expectations for new tests in algebra I and English II.
School Advocates, Lawmakers to Clash Over MAEP Formula?
As the dust continues to settle on the failed education-funding Initiative 42, new battle lines appear to be forming over the formula Mississippi uses to fund public schools.
Fixing Schools: Big Blue Skies, Nuts and Bolts
In 2006, when local voters approved a $150 million bond for Jackson Public Schools, a then-Jim Hill High School sophomore named Treshika Melvin thought about how the money would help her former middle school.
GOP Leaders Hint at Revamp of Education Funding
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Republican legislative leaders said Wednesday they want to change Mississippi's education funding formula to try to push more money into classrooms and less into administrative expenses.
Chief Lee Vance: Increase School Funding, Lower Crime
Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance wants more money—not necessarily just for more cops, gear, or squad cars, but for schools.
State Test Scores Show Progress Against Higher Standards
Mississippi middle- and high-school students are slowly adapting to more rigorous College and Career Ready standards according to state test results released on Thursday.
Mississippi Schools Show Signs of Improvement Despite Underfunding
Academic progress primarily comes from good instruction, and staffing schools, especially in south Jackson, has presented JPS recruiters with problems.
Voters Reject Constitutional Amendment Over School Funding
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi voters rejected any change to the state constitution to bolster public school funding, defeating Initiative 42 on Tuesday.
National Report Card: State Still Below Proficient
Mississippi was the only state that increased both its reading and math proficiency levels for fourth graders according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Find an Issue Worth Your Vote
Being registered to vote is meaningless unless you wield your power as a citizen and actually head to a polling place.
Backroom Anti-42 Politics Counterproductive for Employers
Improving education in Mississippi should be the priority of manufacturers and bankers and insurance agents and realtors and restaurateurs.
Down to the Wire: The Final Push to Pass Initiative 42
Less than a week until the Nov. 3 election, Initiative 42 proponents are making their final push to inform voters about the citizen-driven ballot initiative.
Be True to Initiative 42’s Calls for Accountability
After reading more than a dozen opinion articles from numerous outlets, one thing is clear: Initiative 42 does not simply fall under a catchall category.
MAEP: The Formula and How Politics Got in the Way
The state Legislature established the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, or MAEP, in 1997 to avoid equity lawsuits being filed across the country.
The 42 Vote: Mississippi’s Time of Reckoning
When Mississippi Rep. Lester "Bubba" Carpenter stepped to the microphone at a Republican rally in Tishomingo County and started warning about a "black judge" taking away funds from white schools and giving it to blacker ones, it was deja vu all over again.
Vote for Initiative 42 on Nov. 3
We encourage all Mississippians to vote "For 42" in the general election on Nov. 3.
MAEP Formula Explained
MAEP funding (theoretically) covers teacher and district employee salaries, retirement and insurance, instruction materials, operational costs, transportation, and special, vocational, gifted and alternative education.
Education-Funding Initiative Gets Enough Petitions to Make 2015 Ballot
Almost 200,000 Mississippians from around the state have signed a petition for a state initiative to require lawmakers to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program—far more than the 107,216 certificated signatures required.
Public Education Lawsuit, Explained
While Attorney General Jim Hood prepares his defense against former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's lawsuit against the state for failing to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, advocates and politicians on both sides of the adequate-funding debate are criticizing the lawsuit.
Debating Initiative 42
Rep. Greg Snowden, R-Meridian, and Jim Keith, a Republican lawyer and Initiative 42 proponent, discussed Initiative 42 and the legislative alternative 42A on Oct. 19 at the Capital Club.
Under Pressure: Some Mississippi Educators Silenced on School-Funding Battle
Advocates of Initiative 42 complain that warnings to educators are designed to divide higher education and K-12 education communities, while also silencing them on an issue close to many of their hearts.
Rep. Lester 'Bubba' Carpenter: 'Deeply Sorry' for Racial Comments
State Rep. Lester "Bubba" Carpenter, a Burnsville Republican, this morning walked back racially charged statements made public over the weekend about the Initiative 42 schools-funding referendum.
One Destination, Two Routes
Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, who co-authored MAEP, and public-education advocates at Better Schools Better Jobs want the same thing: for the state to recognize its duty to fully fund education according to the formula it created.
State’s GOP Lawmakers Must Stop Pitting Poor Kids Against Sick People
Mississippi Republican leadership will stop at very little to try to scare voters into allowing them to continue violating state law and underfunding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, even if it means using the sick poor of the state as a pawn in the game.
Do the Anti-42 Politicians Feel No Shame?
Do you ever wake up in the morning and wonder why Mississippi's Republican Leadership seems to hate democracy so much?
More Fallout Over MAEP Funding Court Battle
Ironically, the same cadre of Republican leaders who unilaterally pushed through 42A are lambasting Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd for what they say is usurping the Legislature's authority and making a decision with far-reaching consequences for the entire state.
Shorting MAEP Basically a Tax Hike
Dr. Cedrick Gray, the superintendent of Jackson Public Schools, seems to be proving tight-fisted Mississippi lawmakers right when they say it doesn't necessarily take throwing money at schools to improve education.
School Official Wants Probe of Anti-42 Emails
Although legislative opponents to school-funding ballot Initiative 42 have been threatening deep cuts to state agencies—and therefore state jobs—for months, a new front has opened up in the battle for the hearts and minds of state workers.
Initiative 42: Ballot of Confusion
A group advocating for an education-funding initiative is calling foul on the wording for the referendum on the secretary of state's sample ballot.
We Need to Learn From Charter Schools Before Expanding Them
It is too early to deem charter schools a success or failure in Mississippi. We are witnessing the beginning of a limited experiment in privatized "public" education starting this year in Jackson.
What Schools Are Missing Out On
Mississippi public education has been underfunded 15 out of the last 17 years. While some say that money won't fix the deeply rooted problems in the state's education system, the things listed here would and they cost money.
Budget Cuts or Scare Tactics?
Representatives for state workers are decrying proposed budget cuts to state agencies that House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Herb Frierson, R-Poplarville, asked for last week.
MAEP Opponents Complain About Program They Helped Implement
Many people who don't support the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which aims to support schools across the state with necessary resources, believe the formula is faulty. But few go beyond that in their explanation.
MAEP Memes: Myths vs. Realities
Opponents of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program are pushing a number of memes about the law and public education in Mississippi to argue their case. Here are how the arguments square with the facts.
Analysis: Democrats Disappointed for the Children
Whether this past session of the Mississippi Legislature was successful depends largely on which party a lawmaker belonged to.
Upping the Ante: GOP Threatens Education, Medicaid in Budget Hearings
The Republican leadership, which is against fully funding of MAEP, insists that if Initiative 42 passes, lawmakers will be forced to fully fund MAEP immediately, although its proponents are not asking for immediate funding.
JPS Progress Report Good, Still Low Marks for MAEP Funding
Despite legislative budget writers shortchanging them, along with every other school district in the state, Jackson Public Schools are showing improvement in several areas.
Then and Now: When ‘School Choice’ Creates a Divide
"School choice" is a hot-button political phrase, used in some form since the 1960s. At its most generic, it means giving parents an option of where to send their kids to school beyond the traditional public school of the district in which they live, while still using public dollars, such as with charter schools.
MAEP’s Moral Center: Mississippi’s Education Enigma
The quality of education in Mississippi is falling behind the rest of the nation with only 61 percent of students graduating from high school on time and two-thirds of kindergarteners not ready to learn how to read.
Backroom Anti-42 Politics Counterproductive for Employers
Improving education in Mississippi should be the priority of manufacturers and bankers and insurance agents and realtors and restaurateurs.
Public-Ed Foes Swooping In to Block Ed Funding
The war is on against public-education funding with large political advocacy groups and GOP donors' dollars pouring into anti-Initiative 42 Political Initiative Committees (PICs).
Cristen Hemmins: Education, Equal Pay and Taking On Tollison
Jackson native Cristen Hemmins decided to run for the District 9 Senate seat (which includes Oxford and most of Lafayette County) when her opponent, Gray Tollison, introduced Initiative 42A to the Senate.
Schools Funding Now Up to State Supreme Court
The fate of an education ballot initiative now rests with the Mississippi Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the case this morning in Jackson. The nine justices will decide whether a lower court overstepped its authority when he rewrote an alternative proposed ballot initiative.
Lawsuit Challenges State's Failure to Fund MAEP
Angered by the state's failure to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, 14 Mississippi school districts filed legal claims in Hinds County on Aug. 28.
Special Ed Groups on the Fence about Initiative 42
Initiative 42, the citizen-supported ballot measure to fully fund Mississippi's public-school system, boasts of having a broad coalition of support. However, a vocal and influential bloc aren't fully convinced that the initiative will be good for their kids.
How Is MAEP Calculated?
Parents' Campaign President Nancy Loome explains that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula looks at the funding that would be required for every student in the state to receive at least an adequate education.
Reeves, Gunn Refuse to Reveal Emails About Initiatives 42 and 42-A
Officials with the public-school advocacy group Better Schools, Better Jobs are exploring their options after top lawmakers denied the group's public-records request for emails.
Initiative 42 Supporters Outraising Opponents
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The most expensive ballot initiative campaign in Mississippi history got costlier in September, as supporters of the Initiative 42 education funding measure continued to outraise opponents.
