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

The platform for my campaign is basically three things: 1. Economic Growth 2. Education 3. Protect our rights as U.S. citizens Education is important to both economic growth and protection of our rights.

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

The greatest challenge that I see facing our schools is failing systems. We must understand why systems are failing and work to correct the root cause problems. In a recent report, Mississippi was ranked 48th in education. To me this is unacceptable.

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?

I support fully funding education but I also believe that we have a lot of waste in our educational system. I would look to eliminate the waste and then support fully funding education. I believe that money is not the only answer and we must address the root cause problems we have in education.

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.

Same as above

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)

Support

• Vocational Education

Support. For economic growth we must bring industry to our state and thus we must have a skilled workforce to support it. I think we need to look to bring more vocational and technical programs into our schools for those students who do not desire to go to college.

• Gifted Education

Support

• Special Education

Support

• Education Enhancement/Teacher Supply Fund (EEF)

Support

• Teacher Salaries

I believe that we spend too much on administration and not enough on teachers pay. We need to look to cut waste in administration and put part of that back into the classroom.

• Chickasaw Cession Payments

Unsure about this one until I can explore other options

• The Public Employee Retirement System (PERS)

Support

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

The answer is to eliminate waste and to grow the economy.

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?

Might support an appointment system but would have to look at the components of that system before supporting it.

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

Mississippi teachers move to other states due to pay. I think we have to look at the pay in the surrounding states and make adjustments.

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

In business employees are paid incentives for the quantity and quality of work. I think we have to develop a similar system that rewards high performing teachers.

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

We have a number of successful school districts in Mississippi and I think we have to learn from those districts. We need to understand why they are successful and others are not and my guess is that part of that is leadership.

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?

Might support based on the components of the plan

Eric Powell (incumbent)

Voting Record

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

I envision Mississippi as a great place to live, work and play. Our citizens deserve an excellent quality of life, including jobs that pay well and are rewarding, recreational opportunities that capitalize on our abundant and beautiful natural resources, and a world-class education system that allows Mississippi children to fulfill their dreams. High quality education is the key to all of these things.

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

Mississippi has more challenges than any other state, but we are doing less than other states to address our problems. Our high poverty level means that children enter our schools far behind the curve, yet rather than providing more resources than other states (which research says we should), we invest less. We must invest appropriately in our schools, and we must hold school leaders accountable for the way they utilize those resources. If we are to achieve a world class education system, we must find ways to attract, train and retain top-tier teachers and leaders; adequately fund our schools; and provide high-quality early childhood education experiences for our children.

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. We should fully fund our schools every year, not just in an election year.

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

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 is an excellent program. We cannot back off of our commitment to these teachers.

• Vocational Education

Vocational education is important to students who choose to go directly into a career following high school. It should be fully funded.

• Gifted Education

It is important to continue to challenge our brightest students. Gifted education should be fully funded.

• Special Education

Special education services enable students with challenges to meet their potential. This program should be fully funded.

• Education Enhancement/Teacher Supply Fund (EEF)

We have short-changed this program year after year, forcing teachers to provide supplies for their classrooms out of their own pockets. We must stop diverting these funds to pay for other programs. The teacher supply fund should go to teachers as directed in state law.

•Teacher Salaries

Mississippi’s teacher salaries are among the lowest in the nation. If we are to attract the best and brightest into the teaching field and to solve our teacher shortage, we must invest more in teacher salaries.

• Chickasaw Cession Payments

The Chickasaw Cession payment should be fully funded every year.

• The Public Employee Retirement System (PERS)

We have an obligation to the people who have spent their careers serving the state of Mississippi to keep the State Retirement System solvent, and we must find a way to make that investment.

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

We need to take a hard look at our revenue system to ensure that we are able to provide the services that the citizens of Mississippi expect and deserve. Everything should be on the table. We need to make sure that our tax system is fair, that the fees we charge for services cover the costs of doing business, and that state agencies are operating as efficiently as possible.

•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 support the right of the people to decide whether they want to elect or appoint their superintendents, and I will support the superintendents the people choose.

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

We need to increase teacher salaries and take a look at our teacher education programs to ensure that they are preparing teachers for a successful career. We should also provide incentives to attract our brightest students into teacher education programs.

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

We need to raise the requirements for entry into teacher education and for licensure. We must take steps to attract our brightest students into the teaching field, ensure excellent teacher education programs in our colleges and universities, and provide productive and relevant professional development for teachers throughout their careers. It is also important that we attract excellent school leaders and train them to be instructional leaders in their schools.

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

We must attract our brightest educators into these leadership positions and provide excellent training for them. I believe that getting the right leaders at the helm of every school and school district is the key to a world class education system.

• 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. We must make this a priority and find the means to fund it if we are ever going to reach our potential as a state. This investment will pay for itself many times over in the long run.