FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Senator Merle Flowers 662-349-3983
February 17, 2010 Senate set to vote on Education funding restoration
Flowers vows to continue fight for more money for high growth districts
The Mississippi Senate is poised to vote as early as Thursday or Friday on sending a bill to conference that will restore more than $58 million to various state agencies, including K-12 Education. Gov. Haley Barbour previously made cuts to agencies as required by law to balance the state budget. Senate Bill 2688, which passed the Senate on a 44-2 vote last week, transferred $58 million from the Health Care Trust Fund to restore cuts. The bill was amended by the House of Representatives.
Senator Merle Flowers (R-Olive Branch) broke ranks with the Senate leadership and voted in favor of restoring money to K-12 education last week. “Our DeSoto County School system is the best in the state, and these additional funds will help our 31,000 students,” said Flowers. “While the Senate position is $58 million and the House position is $79 million, I’m confident we can work out an agreement very soon once the bill goes to the conference committee. We need to handle this matter as quickly as possible so we can move on to crafting the 2011 state budget.”
“It is also imperative for the public to understand the significance of House Bill 1622, which is the 2011 K-12 Education funding bill,” said Flowers. “The original House bill zero funded the high growth component, which would mean DeSoto County schools would lose over $5 million in funding. We have fought for many years to get our fair share and get paid for every student. Our entire DeSoto delegation will continue to work to ensure that the high growth component is fully-funded in the final conference report.” Flowers is Chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, and serves on the Education and Appropriations Committees. |
