Jackson Free Press

State legislators are accusing Gov. Haley Barbour of misrepresenting the condition of the state budget.

Barbour has been busy painting a rosy picture of the state's financial state, in his speech at the Neshoba County Fair and in several releases to the media this summer.

"(State) revenue is up significantly," stated a July 4 Barbour press release. "The state collected $70 million more in General Fund revenue in FY 06 than we had budgeted. This gives us a $70 million surplus going into FY 07 and provides flexibility for us to respond to unforeseen challenges."

At the Neshoba County Fair, Barbour repeated that the state had $70 million left over at the end of the last fiscal year, essentially amounting to a $70 million surplus. He said the previous Democratic administration of former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove had left the state budget in a $700 million "budget hole."

Some lawmakers disputed Barbour's claims at a recent budget briefing at the state Capitol, however.

House Appropriations Chairman Johnny Stringer, D-Montrose, and Education Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said much of the budget for fiscal year 2008 is gone—including that miraculous $70 million "surplus."

"That money's already spent," Stringer told reporters.

The representatives said they could already see Medicaid and education suffering shortfalls, even before the legislative budget hearings begin in September. Medicaid, in particular, is already looking like it's at least $100 million short.

Stringer said the budget, including Medicaid, could be ailing for at least another $600 million thanks to a $160 million shortfall for public-education funding, rising health-care costs, and road and bridge repair. Adding to that is $302 million in one-time spending used in the last budget, which won't be available to plug holes this time around.

State Superintendent Hank Bounds revealed in an interview that he intends to ask for more state money from legislators (about $340 million) to fully fund pay raises to bring teacher pay up to the regional average, and he spoke out against any more legislative raids of Mississippi schools' building funds to cover state budgetary shortfalls.

"If Mississippi is to have quality teachers and a quality education for its students, we need to pay the regional average," Bounds told the Jackson Free Press.

The average teacher pay for the region, according to information from the Mississippi Department of Education, is $41,403, based on most recent data from 2003-04. Mississippi falls in near the rear in the list, paying teachers an average of $38,212.

If past behavior is an indicator, legislators aren't likely to acquiesce to Bound's request. Legislators regularly shortchange Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding, and have even regularly pinched $20 million from the MAEP building fund for the last five years.

Nancy Loome, executive director of legislative watchdog group The Parents' Campaign, said the regular underfunding forces local schools to enact costly bond proposals like JPS' recent proposal of $150 million—which will face Jackson voters on the November ballot.

Barbour claimed in a July press release, however, that teacher pay on both the public school and college level has crept up under his guidance.

"Compared to when I took office, education spending for K-12 is up by 19 percent, or $323 million; funding for universities is up 15 percent, or $93 million; and funding for community colleges is up by 12 percent, or $50 million, with a doubling of work-force training and development funding," Barbour said.

Barbour's office did not return calls to the JFP for a more recent comment regarding representatives' pessimism.