The following offers highlights of the recent legislative sessions. Precollegiate enrollment figures are based on fall 2007 data reported by state officials for public elementary and secondary schools. The figures for precollegiate education spending do not include federal flow-through funds, unless noted.
MISSISSIPPI
The legislature in its recently concluded session financed efforts to retain new and veteran teachers, including a $3.4 million program to give experienced educators an extra $1,000 a year, in exchange for serving as mentors to new teachers.
|
|---|
| Republican |
| Senate: 74 Democrats 48 Republicans |
| House: 27 Democrats 25 Republicans |
| Enrollment: 493.300 |
Lawmakers also approved pay raises for teachers with 25 to 35 years of service, to be phased in over the next two years, at a cost of more than $9 million. Previously, teachers with more than 25 years on the job were not eligible.
Lawmakers approved about $2.5 billion for K-12 education in a fiscal 2009 budget of $5.7 billion.
The education budget includes the first-ever state financing for early-childhood programs, $3 million to bolster existing programs operated by nonprofit organizations and others in the state. In addition, the legislature approved funding for a $1.5 million program to help students in kindergarten through 2nd grade be screened for dyslexia.
See other stories on education issues in Mississippi. See data on Mississippi’s public school system.
