Mississippi Cutting It's Education Budget?

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

I think most people want to fund the public school system simply because it funnels outside money into the local community and creates middle class jobs. That's the only logical reasoning behind it.

[Phil75230]

Power point presentation of how Iowa finances its schools. As you may remember, Iowa's population and urban/rural population divide is very similar to Mississippi's. What's Iowa done right and what has it done wrong?

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/DOCS/LSAR...esentation.pdf

Fiscal Year 2014 State cost per pupil: $6,121(P. 19)

I haven't looked up Mississippi's, but comparing Iowa's to Mississippi's can be suggestive of what money can and cannot do for schools. That particular segway, no doubt, we can debate forever. Just that I wanna throw it out there.

Originally Posted by Listener2307

True! And all that is great!

But California spends a little over $10,000 per student and achieves little more than Mississippi. That should tell us (you and me) something. And if that fact tells us nothing, perhaps the recognition that Washington DC pays $18,000 per student and accomplishes even less than either state will give us a clue.

Cost of living, and just about everything else, is MUCH higher in California and the DC area than in Mississippi. Given that 2/3 of the CA population lives in either the SF Bay and L.A.-San Bernadino-Orange County metro areas, plus its excruciating cost of living, it's not surprising that CA has the highest per capita pupil spending. That's why I constantly bring up Iowa, as an educationally successful state even by national standards.

Originally Posted by Listener2307

My position is, more money does not equate to a better education. The first problem in Mississippi is the education system in Mississippi which does not focus on education. And the second - and most difficult - problem is parents who see no value in education.

I stand by my position that the educational system has enough money. They do not do a good job, but it is not because they cannot afford to.

Money's not everything of course, but it's certainly not nothing. Infrastructure quality, new textbooks (and these days, internet connections and eBooks), teachers have to have at least a litttle bit above living wage (especially experienced ones). The point: you can only take your point so far before money really does start to matter.

[Listener2307]

Iowa different?

That's like saying corn doesn't grow on the moon. True, but comes no where near telling the story. There are no similarities between Iowa and Mississippi. I've traveled to all 48 lower states and lived in WA, CA, IL, GA, AL, TX and finally MS. So I urge you to resist the urge to tell me I have to come see for myself.

If Iowa has a superior system, then they should export it to the other states.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

Iowa different?

That's like saying corn doesn't grow on the moon. True, but comes no where near telling the story. There are no similarities between Iowa and Mississippi.

Agreed, comparing to Iowa is a joke.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

I think most people want to fund the public school system simply because it funnels outside money into the local community and creates middle class jobs. That's the only logical reasoning behind it...................
Agreed, comparing to Iowa is a joke.

Here's a question:
If you took all the people from Mississippi and you beamed them over to Iowa so that our children would attend Iowa public schools and our parents would go (or not) to the Iowa PTA meetings, would things improve for Mississippi children?

My answer:
I honestly do not think it would make all that much difference. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that having the Iowa families in Mississippi schools would seem to improve things. Suddenly our schools would look a lot better, and Iowa schools would appear to suck.
Of course that does not mean the Mississippi Superintendent of Education would get a raise. She's already the highest paid superintendent of education in the country.