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

  Candidates for
 
House of Representatives District 23
 

All candidates for this office were offered a questionnaire by The Parents’ Campaign regarding education issues.

Responses appear below. This page has been updated to reflect the results of the August 2, 2011, primary election. The     candidates below will face each other in the general election on November 8, 2011.
 
 Charles Jim Beckett - WINNER      Steve Whitten 

Charles Jim Beckett (incumbent) - WINNER
Voting Record
What is your vision for Mississippi, and how does education fit into that vision?

Create more and better jobs in Mississippi, and make this the best State to live in and work in and that requires a great public education. 

 

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

Money, lack of community support, lack of parental involvement and the breakdown of the family. We need to be sure that we provide our kids with a school that is safe, that provides and environment that builds them up and that is demanding. We need to financially support our schools and the same time we need to remember that schools are about education not about jobs for school employees. We need to make sure that our class rooms have priority over staff and administration.
 

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? 

If the money is there. 

 

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 commit to providing MAEP a majority of any increase that we have. 

 

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)

I have always supported NBCT. I have worked to try and change the law to make these payment mandatory (just like experience pay).  

 

• Vocational Education

We need to improve our vocational education and work closer with our community college vocational programs. 

 

• Gifted Education

My grandson is in the gifted program at Bruce Upper Elem. and I know he enjoys the program, but I would love to see up expand the program by using grouping in each Elem. grade. I think this would expand opportunities to more kids and make it easier on the class room teacher. 

 

• Special Education

I agree we need to help all children, or we will support them forever.  

 

• Education Enhancement/Teacher Supply Fund (EEF)

Should be funded 

 

• Teacher Salaries

Should be increased 

 

• Chickasaw Cession Payments

Should be funded 

 

• The Public Employee Retirement System (PERS)

I do not support making any changes to the current system, but I think we will need to make major changes for people hired in the future. 

 

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

We must grow our tax base by creating more and better paying jobs; we can't solve our problems by simply taking more from the same people. 

 

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 prefer elected superintendents and I would support the people’s right to vote and make the change.  

 

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

We don't have a shortage of teachers for our good schools, so part of the issue is a local issue. We may have to expand our scholarship program for students that will teach in certain schools, and consider paying them a bonus if they will stay past their original commitment. 

 

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

Improve the School of Education at each University. Make the Education Students take a more challenging course load. 

 

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

Support our good teachers (vast majority in most schools) and remove teacher that are not doing their job. A few bad people can make things difficult for everyone. I know we have to have compassion for our employees but the children’s education is the most important this. We cannot take 3-4-5 years to get rid of a bad teacher. We need to increase the education requirement for school board members. 

 

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?

I value early education. My wife was a 4K teacher for several years and our school has a 4k program that does a good job, but I could not vote for state funding UNTIL we can meet our current funding obligations.
 
 
Steve Whitten
NO RESPONSE