Jackson Free Press

It's a rainy day at Callaway High School. Tell-tale water stains spread in brown patches on the ceiling, and tiles bulge under the weight of water from the leaky roof. Custodians have stacked boxes of replacement ceiling tiles in the front hall and placed buckets under the worst leaks.

Melody Musgrove, director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education, said it's time the school's roof got much-needed repairs. Unfortunately, schools don't always have enough money to fix everything that needs fixing.

"The most important thing is the instructional programs, and that's where they're putting their resources," Musgrove said. "It's just like at home--if you had to choose between replacing your roof and feeding your children, you're going to feed your children. The food for education is instruction programs, so that's where they're putting their resources, just as they should."

Fred Davis, executive director of facilities and operations at Jackson Public Schools, explains that they do not have the money to properly maintain the school's 20-year-old roof, but replacing ceiling tiles is slowly chipping away at the school's budget for cleaning supplies and other maintenance costs.

Musgrove said that if the American Jobs Act passes in Congress, it would bring $34.9 million to Jackson for school modernization projects, such as repairing or replacing Callaway's leaky roof. The district would decide which schools had the greatest need.

Musgrove is a native of Mississippi and started her career in education as a teacher. She served as an assistant principal and assistant superintendent before becoming the state's director of special education.

Last year, she was named the director of the Office of Special Education Programs. She is also the wife of former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.

The Jobs Act would bring $335 million to the state's schools as a whole for modernization, including $2 million for Rankin County schools, $1.1 million for Madison County and $1.2 million for Hinds County, Musgrove said.

"Every child deserves to go to school in a great school, and we can do this--the Americans can do this," Musgrove said. "It's time we made some investments in our schools."