After the Mississippi Legisla-ture convenes at noon Jan. 5, two hot-button issues lawmakers will grapple with are balancing the budget and funding education, some Hinds County lawmakers said.
“You will probably hear ‘budget, budget, budget’ for exactly three months,” said state Rep. Credell Calhoun, D-Jackson. “All of the other issues are going to be secondary because the budget is so out of sync.”
The state is facing a $715 million deficit for fiscal 2011, which begins July 1, 2010, and a $1.2 billion deficit for fiscal 2012, according to Gov. Haley Barbour’s office. The budget challenges are a result of issues including revenue shortfalls in fiscal 2009 and 2010 and a $370 million reduction in federal stimulus funds.
Barbour has proposed reducing the budgets of most state agencies by 12 percent and merging some agencies, universities and school districts to help balance the $5.5 billion fiscal 2011 budget, according to his Executive Budget Recommendation released Nov. 16.
State Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said one way for Mississippi to rise up from ranking 50th is to provide more opportunities for people to earn a living, and the way to do that is through education. “We’re going to have tough times for a couple of years, but I’m not the least bit in favor of gutting education just to save a few dollars,” said Brown, chairman of the House Education Committee.
Barbour’s recommendation said the full impact of consolidating some school districts would save an estimated $65 million. Mississippi has 152 school districts throughout its 82 counties.
But Brown, also a member of the House Appropriations and Universities and Colleges committees, said consolidating K-12 won’t really save the state much money, and he will only support it if there is buy-in from residents in those districts. “If it’s going to produce better education outcomes for the kids in that district, raise graduation rates, offer more opportunities, and won’t harm the local people, then I’m all for it,” said Brown, who represents District 66 in Hinds County.
Barbour also proposed merging Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State with Jackson State, which are among the state’s eight public universities. He also proposed merging Mississippi University for Women with Mississippi State University. The proposed mergers would not achieve significant savings in fiscal 2011, according to Barbour’s recommendation, but should save an estimated $35 million in fiscal 2012.
State Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said via e-mail that he strongly believes consolidating the three historically black universities would be wrong. “We need to support the historic missions of these three independent universities so they can continue to provide access to quality education for our citizens and all parts of the state,” said Blount, a member of the Senate Education and Appropriations committees who represents District 29 in Hinds County. “While we are facing tough times, we need to be dedicated to raising education standards for all our citizens in the long-term.”
Calhoun, a member of the House Universities and Colleges Committee, said the merger proposal “will go absolutely nowhere.”
“That will not be a key issue because it’s not going to have any traction whatsoever,” said Calhoun, who represents District 68 in Hinds County.
State Rep. Kimberly Campbell Buck, D-Jackson, also does not think merging universities will be an issue. “I honestly don’t think it’s going to see the light of day,” said Buck, who is married to state Rep. Kelvin O. Buck, D-Holly Springs, chairman of the House Universities and Colleges Committee.
Another member of the House Education and Universities and Colleges committees, state Rep. Alyce Griffin Clarke, D-Jackson, said it’s going to be up to the lawmakers to explore other options to raising funds for higher education in lieu of raising tuition and merging institutions.
Clarke said for the last three years, she has proposed holding a statewide election on whether to have a state lottery to fund higher education, and she will do so again this year. “In my bill, everyone who maintained a B average would go to college for free; they’re doing that in a number of states,” said Clarke, who represents District 69 in Hinds County.
Buck, a subcommittee chairman on the House Universities and Colleges Committee, said the state needs to tap into private dollars as a way to support education. “We need more corporate partnerships and businesses to take an active role in the community,” said Buck, also a member of the House Education Committee. “They get tax incentives, so they can pay us back by helping us with some of our funding.”
Buck, also vice chairman of the House Local and Private Legislation Committee, urged residents to keep up with what’s going on at the state Capitol. “When you hear things on the news, hear us on the radio, if it’s a concern be there in droves because numbers prove a point and numbers make a difference,” said Buck, who represents District 72 in Hinds and Madison counties. “We can’t sleep; we’ve got to become more politically active and participate more in this process.”
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