The Parents' Campaign Home Page Legislators, Funding, & Accountability by School District
Candidates for
House of Representatives District 86
All candidates for this office were offered a questionnaire by The Parents’ Campaign regarding education issues.
Responses appear below. The winner of the November 8, 2011, general election is indicated below.
Sherra Lane - WINNER Mark Purvis
What is your vision for Mississippi, and how does education fit into that vision?
MS has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation. I envision a future where school children can be encouraged, counseled, valued and assisted in every possible way to reach their highest potential. This means adequate funding, commitment to teachers, to teaching assistants and to all school personnel.
What do you see as the greatest challenge facing Mississippi schools and how will you address it?
I see losing children by not meeting their needs and by allowing them to drop out of school as a great challenge. Children, especially those who come from non-traditional or disfunctional families, feel "different" and "bullied" and just give up on themselves. I would like to see social workers--not guidance councelors in every school if we can ever get the funding to accomplish such a program. It would pay for itself in keeping children productive and in keeping them out of dentention centers. We also need to teach, no later than third grade, the penalties for certain criminal offenses such as "the felony murder rule" which makes EVERY person participating in the felony guilty of murder if a murder is committed, regardless of the person's participation in the murder. Another penalty of which young people need to be aware is that a sentence for "armed robbery" is ten years, minimum, served DAY FOR DAY. There is no time earned for anything. This is true even if the gun which was used is missing the trigger.
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?
Absolutely!
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 do my very best. Appropriations sent a potential budget to us. The budget contained information on a lot of ONE TIME money that was used for 2012 in the hope that the economy would recover before massive teacher layoffs are required. I believe that education should be a top priority, along with health and mental health and that scarce funds must be prioritized. I have always voted to fund education at the highest possible level.
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)
The State Of Mississippi has a moral contract with these teachers. If the legislature does not fund NBCT, I feel that the State has breached its contract. The State promised teachers that if they would become board certified, it would pay them more. I believe in integrity in government.
• Vocational Education
Vocational education is very important. There are many trades that pay very high hourly wages to students who may excel in certain trades, but who have little interest in academics. Vocational education is also important in addressing our high drop out rate in MS.
• Gifted Education
I was formerly certified to teach gifted education although I chose to teach specific learning disabled for nine years. I was exposed to gifted education at first through my children. Gifted education was very valuable to my children and to some of my grandchildren. I support it.
• Special Education
Having taught special students for years, this area is very important to me. There's nothing like seeing a child learn to read or to solve problems when the child has met nothing but failure in the past.
• Education Enhancement/Teacher Supply Fund (EEF)
I don't think teachers get enough support money. They spend their own money for classroom supplies which has not changed since I was a teacher.
• Teacher Salaries
I support salary increases for teachers.
• Chickasaw Cession Payments
I believe these payments are also a moral contract with the Indian children.
• The Public Employee Retirement System (PERS)
It seems to work fairly well for everyone-especially the cost of living increase known as the "thirteenth" check.
How can Mississippi get creative to ensure sufficient revenue to fully fund education and other vital state services?
I can't answer this. When the state sales tax was increased, the teachers and education got the blame. It was supposed to fund education; however, as usual, it went into the general fund. As new taxes are passed, none of them are EARMARKED to go into a special fund for education only. Look at what has happened to the tobacco settlement "trust fund." However, without the tobacco settlement as well as other special funds, teacher layoffs would have been even more severe.
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 would oppose a phase-out of elected superintendents. Appointments are even more political than elections. There are MANY elected officials that I would not trust to make an appointment based on qualifications rather than politics.
What would you do to address Mississippi’s teacher shortage?
I would give more money for teachers' education and require the newly certified teachers to teach in areas that experience the most severe shortage.
What steps should be taken to improve the quality of teaching in Mississippi?
Teachers should have more time to teach and spend less time giving REQUIRED tests. Teachers like to teach and students like to learn. No teacher had rather be teaching what is likely to be tested instead of encouraging the students to love learning, taking the students' interests into account.
What steps should be taken to improve the overall quality of Mississippi school leaders?
School leaders should be chosen on merit and integrity. School board members should gradually be required to have higher educations with the current members grandfathered in.
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?
Yes. I would provide some type of tax credit for employers who would contribute matching funds to help provide early childhood education programs for the children of their employees.
NO RESPONSE