JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Jackson Public Schools district is facing a financial crisis prompted by decreased state funding, the schools superintendent said.
Cedric Gray told the Clarion-Ledger (https://on.thec-l.com/1rRcJYv) that the 2015-16 Mississippi Adequate Education Program budget will take an “impactful” hit of more than $550,000, and that funding from the program for 2016-17 - which is pending Gov. Phil Bryant’s signature - will be reduced by $4 million.
“We’ve already budgeted it so that means we’re going to have to really pull back the reins in a lot of ways,” Gray said Monday.
He said the district, which has a current operating budget of $211 million, is looking at what other schools with similar problems are doing to cut back. Some options include closing schools, getting rid of programs such as art and music and increasing class size.
“At this point, all of that’s on the table,” Gray said. “Not fully funding MAEP was already costing us. Now it’s going to cost us an additional $4 million which means we’ll have to figure out what we’re going to do with it and how we’re going to adjust.”
Sharolyn Miller, JPS chief financial officer, said the 2015 MAEP funding, if at full funding, was reduced by about $15 million for the district.
“Do our children deserve those funds?” she asked.
According to Miller, in the last five years, JPS has been underfunded by approximately $67.9 million.
Despite the funding cuts, Gray said the district will do what it takes to survive.
“We’ve been in tough spots before, and we’re going to get through this one too,” he said.
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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, https://www.clarionledger.com
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