Blow From Barbour’s Education Cuts Lessened Because Of Federal Stimulus Package
Blow From Barbour’s Education Cuts Lessened Because Of Federal Stimulus Package
Today, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) announced that he’s slashing $171.9 million from the state’s $6 billion budget, with most of the cuts affecting education programs. According to the AP, Barbour tried to soften his announcement by pointing out that “even with budget cuts, all levels of education are receiving more money than they ever have.” The reason for this good news? The federal stimulus:
Barbour said he expects the impact to be “very, very minimal,” because K-12 and higher education programs are receiving millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds.
Salary supplements for national-board certified teachers and financial aid programs for students are among the items exempted from the cuts. Medicaid and the Department of Corrections will also not be cut at this time.
Under the stimulus, Mississippi schools received $250 million and the state received $484 million to prevent cuts, such as teacher layoffs, in education.
Mississippi shows why stimulus funds were so important for the states — and the folly of other governors such as Sarah Palin, who initially rejected federal education funds. Palin turned down $160 million for education because she believed the state should “chart our own course.” Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) also wanted to use $700 million of South Carolina’s stimulus money meant for school funding and public safety to pay down the state debt, even though the move could have cost 7,500 teachers their jobs.
Barbour was also an outspoken opponent of the stimulus, although his main objections were over $50 million in unemployment benefits for part-time workers. (The state legislature eventually passed a bill circumventing Barbour.)
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The GOP should rename itself as the Goofy Hypocritical Liars Party (GHLP).
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:37 pmI thought Mississippi was going to invest in gambling in places Biloxi to bring in revenue for things like education. Like a constant state lottery, just with cocktail waitresses.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:38 pm787 million dollars for Mississippi?
Did we get a deed?
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:41 pmAnd if any state spends too much on eductation, it is Mississippi !
Seriiously though, if the state takes the stimulus money and just uses it to replace the money the state would usually spend in an area, I really have to wonder if that is really using the money as a stimulous as opposed to just playing bookkeeping.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:45 pmWow, you mean receiving money from the federal government for one program might help free up state money so it can be spent on other programs?
This actually can still function as good stimulus as long as the state is using the money to fund other programs which create and keep jobs. Basically, as long as they aren’t embezzling all the money it should provide stimulus pretty much wherever it is spent.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:51 pmBlow From Barbour’s Education Cuts…
– - Yeah, Haley’s a real gasbag.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:51 pmSigh…
The Reichwhiners contempt for education may be their worst trait.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:53 pmHow appropriate for Mississippi with one of the lowest ranked education systems in the country and some of the lowest paid (if not THE lowest paid) teachers in the country. Smart move Haley. Any chance you’ll cut about 200 pounds out of your girth as a contribution to the cuts?
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:53 pmI noticed Barbour didn’t make any cuts in the corrections budget.
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:01 pmAren’t they 50th in Education already?
You can take a rest now, Mr. Barbour. Mishun Ukomplisht.
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:16 pmHe must know that he will be the leader of the repuhg pack for 2012 or if he`s real smart 2016
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:18 pmI guess his KKK hood is at the cleaners. Trying to remove the blood.
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:18 pmRepublicans not only don’t care about education, they are actually against it. An educated person is much less likely to be duped by lies.
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:54 pmI must say the GOP is doing a great job keeping citizens uneducated and it works so well even Governors and other elected Officals are just as stupid. As we see how the GOP attacks every act Obama does to help the US taxpayers and their families we see how the GOP ends up taking the money they said they didn’t wont. Keeping people stupid and not educting the youth will be the charge America never saw coming.
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:08 pmThis will give Bob Riley the excuse to do the same thing here in Talibama.
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:37 pm$780 million–on top of Mississippi receiving more money back from DC than it sends in…
And yet they’re still 50th in literacy. What are they doing with all that money? Printing up Creationist pamphlets?
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:53 pmFederal monies support local education in three ways: 1) the larger goals of the ‘reverse flow’ to states, of federal initiatives, comes along with certain broad requirements, about how the money is to be used 2) states have slightly different economies, and therefore have the job of educating students about the technology and skills which are most appropriate, and needed, for their ‘mini’ economies 3) flexibility is a built-in, hard to notice, feature of all educational bureaucracies; therefore, states usually have an obligation to apply education funds appropriately, to existing bureaucracies and their own rules!!
September 4th, 2009 at 12:13 amWHY is it education that the GOP cut first? Maybe to keep the people ignorant so they will not know what the GOP is lying about?
September 4th, 2009 at 10:25 amMississippi’s education system is one of the worst in the nation and the STUPID OLD WHITE GUY wants to make it worse.
shame shame shame
tombaker says:
Aren’t they 50th in Education already?
You can take a rest now, Mr. Barbour. Mishun Ukomplisht.
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Why do they need to purchase all them’s books for students in elimentery, junur high and high skool, just have them’s read the Holly Biilble, thems students got’s alll they needs to
September 6th, 2009 at 7:40 pmlern,—- write ?
(?)
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you for your sharing.!
September 7th, 2009 at 10:34 am