The House and Senate agreed to restore about $37 million to K-12 education in a this week following Gov. Haley Barbour's veto of a budget reconciliation bill that would have restored $79 million in cuts to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and district attorney's offices.
Last week Barbour vetoed S.B. 2688 complaining that the state needed to prepare itself for continuing low tax revenue by cutting programs rather than tapping state savings he also needed to steer more money to the Department of Corrections, or fear early release of prisoners. The Senate attempted a veto override, but the vote fell below the 34 needed votes.
The new conference report restores $33.9 million to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which steers state money to under-funded school districts in low-revenue counties. The same bill adds $2 milllion to the National Board Certified Teacher Program, but reportedly Barbour accepted the agreement because it also adds $16 million to the Department of Corrections.
Barbour also agreed to House members' demand that the state put an extra $4 million into programs helping the state's community colleges.
Nancy Loome, executive director of K-12 lobbying group The Parent's Campaign, urged legislators to get behind Senate Bill 2495 last week, and praised legislators for successfully adopting the reconciliation bill.
The Parent's Campaign expressed disappointment, however, at Senate passage of House Bill 1170. The t bill reduced the minimum number of instructional days in the school year by a week, and cuts teacher work days from 187 to 182.
"The cost savings is negligible, and the harm to student achievement would likely be significant," Loome said in a statement, urging the House to reject the bill in its amended form.
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