by Associated Press Published: September 20,2012
Tags: appropriation, education, educator, elementary school, formula, fund, funding, high school, junior high school, law, lawmaker, legislation, legislative, Legislature, public education, public school, school, school district, secondary education, state government, teach, teacher, teaching
JACKSON — The gap between the state’s school funding formula and money actually being appropriated could widen past $300 million next year, raising new questions about the formula’s future. Interim state Superintendent Lynn House told legislative budgeters the Mississippi Adequate Education Program will need $300.6 million more in the 2014 budget year than it received [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: September 18,2012
Tags: city, educator, government, municipal, municipality, public official, public school, retire, retirement, teacher
JACKSON — State government will be asked to put $44 million more into the Mississippi retirement system next year to shore up the program for an estimated 30 years, the system director has told lawmakers. Pat Robertson, executive director of the Public Employees Retirement System, told lawmakers today public schools and cities and counties would [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: September 17,2012
Tags: bench, case, contract, court, discrimination, education, faculty, higher education, instructor, judge, judicial, judiciary, lawsuit, public university, teach, teacher, teaching, tort, violation
HATTIESBURG — A former University of Southern Mississippi faculty member has brought numerous civil claims against the university, asking for reinstatement and unspecified actual and compensatory damages in a lawsuit removed to U.S. District Court. The Hattiesburg American reports Bonnie Gerald also lists former university president Martha Saunders, former provost Robert Lyman and faculty members [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: September 14,2012
Tags: achievement, education, elementary education, grade, learn, learning, public school, rating, school, school district, secondary education, state agency, student, teacher, teaching
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — More school districts achieved higher grades in the first year of Mississippi’s new school rating system, thanks to increased test scores and the suspension of graduation rate requirements for higher-scoring districts. Districts and schools got letter grades for the first time today. Under a new law, the old seven-step system, running from [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: September 13,2012
Tags: achievement, cheat, commission, education, ethics, media, newspaper, open records, probe, public education, school, score, state agency, student, teacher, test
GREENWOOD — The Mississippi Ethics Commission has sided with the Greenwood Commonwealth newspaper and says the state Department of Education should hand over documents from any probe of possible cheating on achievement tests in Leflore County. In a non-binding opinion issued last Friday, the Ethics Commission agreed with the newspaper that such documents are public [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: August 24,2012
Tags: assessment, education, educator, elementary school, evaluation, high school, junior high school, lawmaker, legislation, legislative, Legislature, public education, public school, rating, school school district, score, secondary school, state government, teacher, teaching
JACKSON — Even before school and district report cards graded “A” to “F” are rolled out for the first time, it’s clear that lawmakers and education officials have a strong appetite for further changes to how schools are graded. In a hearing yesterday, Mississippi Department of Education officials told lawmakers they expect to examine new [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: August 22,2012
Tags: bill, classroom, education, educator, evaluation, lawmaker, legislative, Legislature, pay, public school, salary, school, state agency, state government, teacher
JACKSON — Mississippi lawmakers are learning about teacher evaluations, possibly as preparation for basing educators’ pay on their performance. But some lawmakers may not realize the state Department of Education is in the midst of an intensive effort to create a statewide evaluation system. Andy Baxter of the Southern Regional Education Board made a presentation [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: August 21,2012
Tags: bill, compensation, education, educator, executive, governor, law, lawmaker, legislative, Legislature, public education, salary, school, school district, state government, supplemental salary, teacher, teaching
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — If Gov. Phil Bryant depends on supplemental salaries paid by local school boards to finance his performance pay plan for teachers, it will vary widely from district to district. The supplemental pay local school districts provide teachers — on top of their standardized state salaries — ranges from a high of $7,575 [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: August 10,2012
Tags: board, education, educator, elementary school, high school, junior high school, learn, learning, property tax, public education, school, tax, tax collection, tax rate, taxpayer, teacher, teaching
NATCHEZ — The Natchez-Adams School District Board of Trustees has approved a resolution for an increase in ad valorem tax funding of $565,000, which will be given to the Adams County Board of Supervisors to be converted into a millage. The Natchez Democrat reports the funding was included in the district’s $39.8 budget for the [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: July 11,2012
Tags: cheat, court, education, educator, exam, fraud, indict, indictment, judge, judicial, judiciary, license, teacher, teaching, test
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man has been indicted on federal charges that he was paid thousands of dollars by aspiring teachers in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi to have other people take their teacher licensing exams. The federal indictment released yesterday said 58-year-old Clarence Mumford hired a group of test takers, including Memphis City Schools [...] [...]