Gov. Haley Barbour’s proposed education budget allocates $2.698 billion for kindergarten through 12th-grade in schools across Mississippi for the fiscal year of 2010.
This year, the budget has an increase of $196 million, which is “more than our public schools have ever received in the past,” Barbour told the media during an afternoon press conference Monday in the Governor’s press room.
The previous highest amount was $2.502 billion in the fiscal year of 2008. With a size increase of about 7.8 percent more than any other previous education budget, this year’s budget takes precedent as being the highest in state history.
The budget falls about $50 million short of what other legislators believe it should be and has met strong opposition in the House of Representatives.
“We have to have a budget that balances … a budget that we can implement as allowed by the federal government in concert with their stimulus rules,” Barbour said. “We don’t need to go beyond that when there is need for that money in other places, like Medicaid.” He later added, “It doesn’t make any sense to add $45 or $50 million extra to my budget.”
Rep. Cecil Brown, head of the House Education Committee, is an opponent of the Governor’s budget and is in favor of the extra $50 million. During a telephone interview with The Mississippi Link, Brown said the Governor’s budget will “under fund education and severely hurt hospitals and Medicaid.”
“He’s misrepresenting the facts,” Brown said. “He’s using federal stimulus money that can only be used for Title I and special education.” The federal stimulus money, although part of the entire education budget, cannot be spent on general education, according to Brown. Brown, a democrat, represents Hinds County District 66.
“I’m not going to call a special session until the conferees have come to an agreement, or an end is in sight to the budget impasse,” Barbour said. “I’m not going to make the legislators come down here and sit around and twiddle their thumbs and waste the tax payers’ money.”
Brown appeared adamant in his opposition. “He’s going to have to call a special session,” Brown said. “We are not going to let him hurt education.”
According to Brown, those who oppose Barbour’s budget are ready to fight “until the end.”
After debating for an hour Wednesday, legislators were unable to reach an agreement. The vote was 71 yays and 46 nays. The bill did not pass and the house took a short recess. Upon returning, the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee announced that the committee would meet with the Senate Conferees in the appropriations room. The house then voted to adjourn until 5 p.m.
At press time, the House remained in recess as the Appropriations Committee and the Senate Conferees had not reached an agreement on the budget. It was unclear whether or not a special session would be called.
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