Parents' Campaign

From Staff Reports

MATHISTON - Webster/Oktibbeha Retired Education Personnel learned about The Parents' Campaign during their last meeting.

SaraJane Curry and Dot McCorkle presented the Feb. 6 program at The Wood Institute. The two, who attended the 2008 Legislative Priorities Luncheon Jan. 31 in Jackson, provided this information from that meeting and Parents' Campaign literature:

The Mississippi Adequate Education Program requires the Legislature to fund public education at a level adequate to meet midlevel (Level 3) accountability standards. However, the Legislature has often failed to provide the level of funding called for in the law. As a result, schools have suffered funding shortages, often resulting in the loss of programs and teachers.

The Parents' Campaign, a nonprofit, grassroots network that works to ensure a quality education for all Mississippi children, was founded in 2006 to address this and other issues that affect children's education.

In its first year, the organization won full funding of the MAEP by engaging parents in conversations with their legislators. This year it is again addressing school funding as well as other measures to improve student achievement.

The Parents' Campaign seeks to improve public education by influencing legislation that affects the quality of education offered Mississippi children. It does this by informing members of who their legislators are and how they can be contacted, notifying members when legislation is introduced that affects public schools and what the effect of that legislation will be, and informing members of how their legislators vote on pertinent education bills,

The organization is not affiliated with any political party or any other education association. Curry and McCorkle also discussed the state Board of Education's proposed Quality Education Act of 2008, which would provide for adequate resources for school districts and students, excellent personnel at all levels in every school district, facilities that are conducive to learning, appropriate learning opportunities and accountability for chronically failing school districts.

Local School Needs

Additionally, they provided local district information from a report by Jimmy Pittman, superintendent of the Webster County School District, on what MAEP dollars would have been used for it had been fully funned in fiscal years 2004-06.

According to the information provided, he reported that the under-funding had been difficult to deal with, and that if fully funded the WCSD would have:

€ implemented high school physical education

€ upgraded facilities

€ more after-school tutoring

€ upgraded computer labs

€ rehired 17 assistant teachers the district was forced to lay off

€ upgraded reading programs

€ more professional development

"On an already tight budget, under-funding is very crippling," Pittman stated.

More information is available online at www.msparentscampaign.org.