“Level” Funding is not Full Funding: State Would Fall Nearly a Quarter Billion Dollars Short of Fully Funding Education

November 22nd, 2010

The Executive Budget Recommendation calls for “level” funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. It is important to note, however, that level funding only means that a number of state support dollars available for funding education in 2012 would be the same as in 2011. Under this scenario, Mississippi will still be nearly a quarter of a billion dollars short of fully funding education. The chart below shows the gap:

Click to enlarge

With the current “level” of funding, class sizes have swelled. For example, one kindergarten classroom has 34 children. Many classrooms across the state have lost their teaching assistants due to budget cuts and individual instruction time has been reduced.

For the state to be competitive, investment in education remains essential and will require a balanced approach that includes revenues.

Source:

Mississippi Department of Education