The Mississippi State Officer’s Office has released a new report showing that public school teachers will have to pay out of pocket for school supplies or risk students sitting in bare classrooms if the state’s department of education doesn’t alter the start date of a program that subsidizes certain purchases by educators.
The Education Enhancement Fund (EEF) procurement card program for public K-12 classrooms provides teachers with money for supplies. State law currently mandates these cards to be activated by August 1. However, the auditor’s report finds that roughly 75% of public schools in Mississippi will begin the fall semester sometime in July, putting teachers in limbo when it comes to buying supplies.
“Common sense says money spent in the classroom is what makes the biggest difference for students,” State Auditor Shad White said. “My office found that Mississippi spends a greater percentage of its K-12 budget on administrative costs than every other state in the South, which means, when we do spend money in the classroom, it needs to get to the teachers on time.”
According to the department of education, the EEF fund will provide eligible teachers with $748 each for classroom supplies. With school starting in most districts before the procurement cards are activated, 24,000 teachers with over 329,000 students would be missing out on just under $18 million in supply funds for the first week of school, unless a change is made.
The auditor’s office is asking education officials to activate EEF cards earlier in future years so that every teacher in the state can use their allocated funds as intended before students return to school for another semester.
“Earlier activation would eliminate a financial burden on teachers during the costly start of the school year and ensure students return to fully equipped classrooms ready to learn,” the auditor emphasized.
“No legal barrier prevents the cards from being activated earlier, and earlier activation would unlock $17.8 million for teachers when they need it most. Activating cards by July 15th each year would eliminate this burden, put public dollars to work as intended, and ensure students walk into classrooms ready to learn.”
At the time of publication, the Mississippi Department of Education has not commented on White’s findings. The auditor’s full report can be found here.
