In an interview posted at the Jackson Free Press, the head of the Mississippi Department of Education, Carey Wright, said:
- Education costs money. There's no two ways about it. How much does education cost? That's going to vary from state to state depending on what the economy is like but to put in inventive or innovative kinds of programs or expand our CTE (Career and Technical Education) or expand computer science or things of that nature, it's going to require some funding. What does that level of funding looks like? I think you've got to take an equity piece into it as well, because I think some districts have the ability to raise a lot more local money than other districts. You've got to figure out a way that's going to be compensative for some of that. If I can only raise 5 dollars, that's all I can raise, but if I happen to be in a place that can give me an additional ten, I can do more with 15 than I can with five. So I think that's what we've got to be looking at—how can we level the playing field around the state for all the children.
It's all about the money. My takeaway is that if there was no money there would be no education..so the BEST education requires the most money they can get (no ceiling apparently). Is there any wonder, then, that Mississippi Education never has enough money? And that's not an indictment against MAEP's and budgets, but against the goals and standards of the Mississippi Education system.
