MAEP Fully Funded

Dear Jeff,

Today we saw the culmination of months of work on behalf of Mississippi children! The conference report for HB 513, the education funding bill, has passed both the House and Senate. The report provides the following:

· Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP)
o Fully funded
· Teacher Pay and Recruitment
o Increments extended to 35 years, phased in over 2 years
o No increase to base teacher salaries
o $1.2-million for Teach for America
· Teacher Supply/Building Fund
o $7-million for Teacher Supply Fund
o No funding for Public School Building Fund
· Early Childhood Education (in HB 1619 – also passed both chambers)
o $3-million
· High School Redesign
o $13-million
· At-Risk Funding
o $3.4-million for mentor teachers
o $1.5-million for dyslexia screening

The Conference Report on SB 2149 (superintendent accountability) is still awaiting debate and should be taken up tomorrow. We will continue to report to you the final proceedings on all the bills related to the Quality Education Act.

Already we have accomplished what many said we couldn’t – full funding of MAEP in a non-election year (the first time ever!), state funding for early childhood education programs (the first time ever!), an extension of teacher salary increments, slightly more in teacher supply dollars, increased funding for High School Redesign, and important funding for mentor teachers and dyslexia screening. Please join me in thanking our legislators for investing in our children’s education! You can find contact information for your legislators on our website at Find My Legislators.

While we haven’t achieved everything we wanted, we have made great strides toward a high quality public education system. Over 45,000 Mississippians made education our priority, voicing our support for real education reform. Our legislators responded accordingly. That is very, very good news for Mississippi children!

With a grateful heart,

Nancy

Nancy Loome
Executive Director
The Parents' Campaign
800 N. President Street, Suite B
Jackson, Mississippi 39202-2560
Office: 601.961.4551
Mobile: 601.672.0953
Fax: 601.961.4552
Website: http://www.msparentscampaign.org