What is your vision for Mississippi, and how does education fit into that vision?

To make Mississippi one of the most sought after places in America to live, work and raise a family.   To do this we have to focus on creating a job-friendly environment with minimal government regulations and low taxes that encourages private-sector small business growth and attracts large scale global companies. To achieve this education must be at the top of our priorities and not just through moral support and funding, but through a definitive plan that provides all the tools, resources, structure and support available to be successful. A plan that attracts and supports the best teachers available, gives our students the best opportunities possible to achieve their full potential and provides Mississippi with the most skilled and technically trained workforce available in our nation.

 
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 know we can meet the needs of our children and I am committed to doing so.
 

I’m a strong advocate for rewarding those who go above and beyond and that is exactly what National Board Certified teachers are doing by taking this step. I will support the funding of higher salaries for National Board Certified teachers.
 
• Vocational Education
I believe both technical and skills vocational training programs are an area where we can make great strides in improving our overall educational system. These are programs that can be put in place to give our students who struggle in a traditional classroom setting an alternative to traditional learning. It will help us greatly improve our current dropout rate and at the same time meet the needs of our workforce issues of today. Mississippi is also home to one of the nation’s leading community college systems so the foundation is in place, now we just need to expand our curriculum to provide not only students with further educational options but also meet the needs of the businesses and industries we are trying to attract to Mississippi.
 
• Gifted Education
Just as we spend so much of our time and resources trying to bring our underachieving students up to average we should also spend as much time and resources on making our average students great. All children, regardless of their learning abilities deserve to get the attention they need to be as successful as possible.
 
• Special Education
Funding considerations must be made to address getting these children into a classroom setting that best serves their needs.
 
• Education Enhancement/Teacher Supply Fund (EEF)
Again, I am a big proponent of putting our educational dollars back to work in the classroom. Teacher must have the tools they need to succeed if we are ever to reach our achievement goals.
 
• Teacher Salaries
Teachers are over-due for increases and attention should be given to making these increases possible. I’m also a strong advocate for rewarding results. I believe a balanced system should be looked at that would provide a way for overachieving teachers to be rewarded. This level of competition will provide additional incentives to teachers to push for achievement and will also help us recruit and attract more driven teachers into the system because they know their efforts will be rewarded.
 
• Chickasaw Cession Payments
All Mississippi children deserve the best education we can provide them. Funding for this program is provided for via our states constitution.
 
• The Public Employee Retirement System (PERS)
The agreements that have been made to all state employees who are currently in the system are off the table in my mind. An agreement is an agreement. The ability to continue to fund this program as we go forward must be addressed now. We must make certain the ability to pay these benefits is in place. I’m committed to working through this challenge and I believe it must be done now.
 
How can Mississippi get creative to ensure sufficient revenue to fully fund education and other vital state services?
The best thing we can do to provide revenue for all Mississippi programs is focus on the creation of job development and by expanding our business and industry base. More people living and working in Mississippi equals more revenue. Well over half of our current funding goes to education… Mississippi taxpayers have continued to show their commitment to education. Because of this we must make certain our results and achievement are living up to our funding commitments, especially as we move forward seeking more funding. There is no doubt we all can tighten our belts, even when we think we can’t, we must focus on being more efficient in our administrative and operational departments and make certain our dollars are being spent in the classroom.
 
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?
Our children and schools deserve the best most qualified superintendents possible. I strongly support appointing these positions.
 
What would you do to address Mississippi’s teacher shortage?
Teachers are our front line to making sure Mississippi is prepared to meet the needs of tomorrow. I think there are a number of things that can be done to create a more desirable environment in which teachers not only must work in, but that they want to work in. First, we must make certain they have the support and encouragement from a strong administration. This comes from having good leadership, solid policies and stable funding. We must do a better job at developing policies that help improve the classroom environments in which teachers work in and then principals must give them the support the need to adhere to those policies. We must focus on creating a solid rewards program that gives teachers incentives to do more. Just as we work toward having more teachers Board Certified we must also make certain our administration is best prepared for their jobs.
 
What steps should be taken to improve the quality of teaching in Mississippi?
Outside of the important aspects mentioned above we must make strides in getting more parents involved and taking ownership in their role in preparing children to learn.
 
What steps should be taken to improve the overall quality of Mississippi school leaders?
Making sure we are hiring the most qualified leaders possible, expanding continued education programs that focus on developing strong leaders and giving them the skills they need, and by considering rewards based incentive programs.
 
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?
Children must be prepared to learn and this starts very early in their life. Currently in our state there is a multitude of early learning programs that are provided for through a variety of funding sources. We must continue to work toward making certain that all these different programs work together in a planned approach to getting children ready for kindergarten. Through better planning many of these programs can work together and share resources to make sure more children are receiving the early childhood learning they deserve.  I’d like to see us work toward supporting a system of delivery in our state that gives us a way to make sure we are being resourceful with shared private and state dollars, have a way to measure our outcome and leveraging federal funding that is currently being used.