News Intro Text
[The Sun Herald, October 2, 2016]
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<p>BY JUSTIN VICORY</p>
<p>jvicory@sunherald.com</p>
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<p>It’s bleak future for Mississippi schools, a recent report says, unless something changes.</p>
<p>Segregated school systems and chronic underfunding have tied the state to the bottom of educational rankings for decades.</p>
<p>The Jesuit Social Research Institute of Loyola University New Orleans, a social welfare advocacy group, recently presented a report called the “State of Working Mississippi 2016” at a Biloxi seminar. The institute used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Education, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Economic Policy Institute to illustrate how the state still lacks resources and funding in education.</p>
<p>Not everyone in Mississippi has access to quality education, which means they have fewer job opportunities, said Jeanie Donovan, economic policy specialist with the institute. Where they do have access, underfunding continues to prevent school districts from raising standards.</p>
<p>“Mississippi often ranks at the bottom when compared to other states. Low rankings aren’t just numbers,” Donovan said. “They represent a daily struggle. There’s a lack of educational opportunity for a significant number of households.”</p>
<p>Not unexpectedly, the report addressed the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which has been underfunded according to its own formula every year but two since its creation in 1997.</p>
<p>According to the formula, Coast schools will have been underfunded by more than $250 million over the last eight years. Statewide, the number balloons to $1.2 billion in the same time frame.</p>
<p>“I think what we’ve seen is everything starts with education,” said Jeremy Eisler, a senior education staff attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice. “And yet in a state where we’ve established a mandatory education funding formula, we’re $1.2 billion behind. This year, the Legislature again has refused to fully fund it. Without adequate education and health, no one in this state has what it needs.”</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.sunherald.com/latest-news/article105191871.html">MORE>></a></p>
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<p>jvicory@sunherald.com</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It’s bleak future for Mississippi schools, a recent report says, unless something changes.</p>
<p>Segregated school systems and chronic underfunding have tied the state to the bottom of educational rankings for decades.</p>
<p>The Jesuit Social Research Institute of Loyola University New Orleans, a social welfare advocacy group, recently presented a report called the “State of Working Mississippi 2016” at a Biloxi seminar. The institute used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Education, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Economic Policy Institute to illustrate how the state still lacks resources and funding in education.</p>
<p>Not everyone in Mississippi has access to quality education, which means they have fewer job opportunities, said Jeanie Donovan, economic policy specialist with the institute. Where they do have access, underfunding continues to prevent school districts from raising standards.</p>
<p>“Mississippi often ranks at the bottom when compared to other states. Low rankings aren’t just numbers,” Donovan said. “They represent a daily struggle. There’s a lack of educational opportunity for a significant number of households.”</p>
<p>Not unexpectedly, the report addressed the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which has been underfunded according to its own formula every year but two since its creation in 1997.</p>
<p>According to the formula, Coast schools will have been underfunded by more than $250 million over the last eight years. Statewide, the number balloons to $1.2 billion in the same time frame.</p>
<p>“I think what we’ve seen is everything starts with education,” said Jeremy Eisler, a senior education staff attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice. “And yet in a state where we’ve established a mandatory education funding formula, we’re $1.2 billion behind. This year, the Legislature again has refused to fully fund it. Without adequate education and health, no one in this state has what it needs.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sunherald.com/latest-news/article105191871.html">MORE>></a></p>
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