DAY 4 OF BUDGET HEARINGS: Department of Education Asks for $300.3 Million Above Last Year

September 23rd, 2011

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) made their Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget request on Thursday morning for an increase of 13 percent over their FY 2012 allocation. In total, MDE is in need of $300.3 million beyond last year’s contributions from the state.

Mississippi has lost 2,059 teachers and staff in K-12 education over the last year, including 704 teachers and 792 assistants (See Chart). Dr. Burnham, the state superintendent for education, highlighted that funding constraints continue to have a negative impact on staff, teachers, and materials available to students. He noted that student-teacher ratios have increased and that a rise in the number of students in a classroom does limit a teacher’s ability to allocate individual attention needed for each student.

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Additional requests included $250.2 million for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), $3 million for the transition to new Common Core standards, and $2.5 million for a superintendent’s Academy, as approximately 60 new superintendents assume their duties in the next year (See Below).

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The loss of hundreds of teachers and teacher assistants across Mississippi is not a forward step for ensuring schools have adequate resources to strengthen academic achievement, increase high school graduation and build college-readiness. The MAEP was underfunded by $237.4 million in FY 2012. Without adequate revenue, Mississippi will not meet MAEP needs again in FY 2013.

Resources for capacity building among state superintendents and implementing common core curriculums may also be difficult to find. Taking a step backward in K-12 education would be detrimental to the state’s children and generating revenue to advance toward funding the MAEP should be a priority.

Author:

Sarah Welker, Policy Analyst