The Parents' Campaign Home Page        Legislators, Funding, & Accountability by School District

I want to see the quality of life improve for all Mississippians -- more and better paying jobs, the opportunity for our children and grandchildren to make their lives here if they choose, in short, an ever-increasing standard of living. Obviously, we cannot become the #1 state we all want to be if our education system remains #49 or #50. Improving education is both a cause and effect of the better future we should all want for our state.

What do you see as the greatest challenge facing Mississippi schools and how will you address it?

The greatest threat to educational improvement statewide, I believe, is severing the connection between the schools and the community at large. It has been my observation that "good" schools exist where the local communities support them, financially and otherwise. Unfortunately, we have too many areas around the state where the schools and the communities seem to exist in their own, separate worlds. There is a real "fight" as it were in many communities to maintain the emotional and civic "glue" that binds the schools to the community. We all need to engage in that fight, because if the bond is broken, as it has been in too many places around our state, it is very difficult to salvage the school system or the community itself.
 

For Fiscal Year 2012, the MAEP appropriation is underfunded by $237,386,693. Assuming no more than 2% inflation, the formula would likely require about $2,365,180,600 for Fiscal Year 2014 (to be decided in the 2013 Legislative Session), about $392-million more than was appropriated for Fiscal Year 2012. Would you support getting to this full funding level in two legislative sessions? 

There is no way that anyone honestly can make a multi-year funding commitment without first knowing what resources actually will be available. Everyone (certainly myself) wants to fully fund MAEP. But our overall revenues are some $1 billion less than we normally would have anticipated even a few years ago, and we are told that revenue levels will not rebound fully for several years yet. What is proposed above would require nearly $200 million additional spending for K-12 alone in each of the next two fiscal years, but there is no indication that state revenue for the entire budget will grow by that much that quickly. Educators, taxpayers, and citizens demand honest answers, not empty promises. Education funding is a top priority, but living within our means fiscally is a constitutional necessity. Prudence dictates making funding decisions only when adequate information exists as to the amount of actually available funds; otherwise, we're just setting up agencies (including schools) for mid-year cuts, and nobody wants that.  

Will you commit to closing by a significant margin the current gap between current funding and full funding of the MAEP for Fiscal Year 2013 (to be decided in the 2012 Legislative Session)? The MAEP is currently underfunded by $237,386,693.

I will commit to do everything in my power to provide adequate funding for all of our state agencies, including K-12 education, consistent with the actual resources we have available. Again, however, promises are easy to make, especially in an election year. The bottom line is that funding for education or for anything else will never be what any of us want it to be unless and until state revenues rebound. Hopefully we are seeing some modest improvement, but the process of recovery will be a long one, and will take several years, by all accounts.

The following issues are very important to the 60,000 members of The Parents’ Campaign. Frequently throughout the year, we get calls and emails regarding these topics, and many of the questions submitted for this questionnaire were about funding for these specific areas.Where do these fit into your funding priorities, and how would you, as a legislator, address them?

• National Board Certification Program Stipend/National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT)

This (supplemental money) is a commitment we have made to those who are board certified, and one we must keep, in my opinion. Otherwise, it is akin to a "bait and switch." 

• Vocational Education

I am supportive of vocational education both at the secondary school level, and through workforce training in secondary schools and community colleges. We need more cross-over between both of these levels of education, in my opinion, and more interaction with prospective employers. We should look to employers to help schools mold students into the employees they need and want to hire. 

• Gifted Education

My wife is a teacher of the gifted in the Lauderdale County public school system, and gifted education accordingly is especially close to me. Both of my children (now adults) were in the gifted program when students in the Meridian Public Schools, and both benefitted from the experience. 

• Special Education

This truly is an area where we need to do better as a state. If there ever was an area where the motto "No Child Left Behind" should apply, it is in the realm of special education. These children deserve our best efforts. 

• Education Enhancement/Teacher Supply Fund (EEF)

Both my wife and my oldest daughter are public school teachers (different systems) in Mississippi, so I am very aware of the special burden teachers bear when it comes to teacher supplies. This is an area where budgets are really squeezed; hopefully we can improve the situation as the economy (and state revenues) continue slowly to improve. 

• Teacher Salaries

Again, both my wife and my daughter are Mississippi public school teachers, and I know how hard they work for the money they are paid. Nevertheless, it is a hard reality that all of our state workers at this particular time are facing a longer-than-desired period without raises or salary increases. Without meaning to sound like a broken record, our state revenue situation is going to have to improve significantly before substantial raises can be given to any state employees. 

• Chickasaw Cession Payments

I am not in a Chickasaw Cession area of the state, but I recognize and support the state's commitment. 

• The Public Employee Retirement System (PERS)

Clearly PERS must remain sound, not only for current retirees, but for future ones also (of which I am one). Having said that, we have seen a pattern over the course of the past few decades where employer (i.e. taxpayer) contributions have far outstripped employee contributions. As a practical matter, some adjustments are going to have to be made in order to maintain the integrity of the system. But PERS absolutely will be kept sound. 

How can Mississippi get creative to ensure sufficient revenue to fully fund education and other vital state services?

I don't know that "creative" is the word. Basically, this is a bread-and-butter economic development issue. Better and higher paying jobs lead to increased incomes and more discretionary spending, which in turn generates more state revenues. We are so dependent here on the overall economy. Education is both a vital component of, and chief beneficiary of, our state's economic development efforts. 

In Mississippi, some local school superintendents are elected rather than being appointed by their boards. Would you support or oppose a phase-out of elected superintendents, moving to appointment as incumbent elected superintendents retire or leave their positions?

I have always believed the best model for school governance is an elected school board which hires a professional, appointed superintendent. This makes the board directly accountable to the taxpaying voters, and allows a professional superintendent to do his job with some political buffer. Having said that, some of our best systems have elected superintendents, so we need to be careful to not break something that is working.  

What would you do to address Mississippi’s teacher shortage?

First, I would hope we can further incentivize veteran teachers to remain on the job and not retire early. Second, we need to do a better job of mentoring beginning teachers so that we don't have the attrition we sometimes experience.  

What steps should be taken to improve the quality of teaching in Mississippi?

Accountability is the key. Good teachers should be rewarded and promoted, and poor teachers should be improved or removed. Of course, this is easier said than done, and the appropriate models for doing this are difficult to develop. Taxpayers demand accountability of teachers and administrators, however, so there will be more, not less, of this in the future, I believe. 

What steps should be taken to improve the overall quality of Mississippi school leaders?

Same answer essentially as above. No one who sincerely cares about the quality of the schools should be afraid of accountability for school boards, superintendents, principals, or teachers. The challenge, of course, is to develop the appropriate and fair models for assessment. 

Would you support state funding for a statewide non-compulsory early childhood education program? If yes, what is your plan for getting state funding for early education? If no, why are you opposed to state funding for early education?

Funding appears to be the greatest challenges facing Mississippi. This is an area that begins at early childhood to post-secondary education. I will address this challenge by envisioning the end results then identifying a solution to every obstacles then look at how to overcome these as we seed to involve all parties in the decision-making process.

For Fiscal Year 2012, the MAEP appropriation is underfunded by $237,386,693. Assuming no more than 2% inflation, the formula would likely require about $2,365,180,600 for Fiscal Year 2014 (to be decided in the 2013 Legislative Session), about $392-million more than was appropriated for Fiscal Year 2012. Would you support getting to this full funding level in two legislative sessions?             Yes, I would vote for full funding in both legislative sessions.

Will you commit to closing by a significant margin the current gap between current funding and full funding of the MAEP for Fiscal Year 2013 (to be decided in the 2012 Legislative Session)? The MAEP is currently underfunded by $237,386,693.                                                                                                       Yes, I will commit to doing everything possible to close this wide margin for Fiscal Year 2013 or nearby.

The following issues are very important to the 60,000 members of The Parents’ Campaign. Frequently throughout the year, we get calls and emails regarding these topics, and many of the questions submitted for this questionnaire were about funding for these specific areas.Where do these fit into your funding priorities, and how would you, as a legislator, address them?

Priority 4 -this performance-based assessment helps to solidify the teacher's knowledge and skills which intern adds value to the teacher and ultimately solidifies the teachers overall level of education.

Priority 5-this initiative I embrace wholeheartedly because not everyone is apt to a traditional college education.

Priority 6 -this is the area that fosters incentives for advancing the over achiever for jobs well done in their educational initiatives.

Priority 3 -this fosters learning for those children with special need that will aid providing a level of education for those children with special needs.

Priority 7 -teachers should not have to fund supplies used for the educational development of a child.

Priority 1 -teacher salaries must be aligned with industry average and based on the educational level of the teacher.

Priority 8 -these are the area initiatives that provide benefits to those whose land was taken and promised. 

Priority 2 -because of the time spent in the field of providing education, teachers must be secures a retirement adequately for sustained living.

I am not an advocate of casinos, however, we said years ago that we would utilize these initiatives to fund education. Perhaps we should stick to this plan first then maybe develop other more viable methods.

I would raise salaries and rigorous recruitment initiatives.

To improve the quality of teaching in Mississippi, I would add the following: 1. An educated workforce 2. A safe environment 3. Parental involvement at the highest level 4. Standards of discipline within the learning environment 5. More job-specific curriculum

To improve the overall quality of Mississippi school leaders, I suggest the following: 1. Support from school administrators as it relates to discipline 2. Performance-based salaries

Yes, early childhood is the most critical time in the learning development of a child. I would look into a plan that outlined the following: 1. A feasibility study to look into the needs of the child/family/community 2. Develop guidelines that look into the growth stages that begin in the early stages bridging the gap to post stages of the child, 3. A community mentoring/shadowing initiative that looks into areas where the child is gifted 4. Show how the plan ensures a better quality of life and a positive direction for growth and development 5. Design a measuring tool to periodically determine the success of the process. Determining how educating a person fosters economic development for a people is by far one of the greatest processes that warrants funding from a state as well as a federal level.