Dive Brief:
- Cuts in Mississippi's education funding have resulted in dire realities for the state's schools, which are seeing everything from a lack of textbooks to crumbling buildings.
- Since 2008, legislators have allowed funding cuts to grow to $1.5 billion, spending far less on education than required by state law.
- Because of the lack of funding, property taxes have increased in the neighborhoods surrounding 80% of Mississippi's 146 districts.
Dive Insight:
The article zeros in on one particularly small district, Durant Public School, to illuminate how these cuts are affecting children, teachers, and the communities they are apart of. In Durant, for example, the administrators decided to forgo new textbooks so they could keep teachers. This means that educators scramble to find lesson plans and curriculum online instead. Additionally, to cut costs, new teachers who can be paid lower are being selected to fill available positions. This is unfair to veteran teachers who have worked hard to earn their masters and are not being hired because they cost more, and it is also a disservice to students who get teachers that aren't necessarily better but are hired because they are cheaper.
