Contact: Joe Farris
The chairman of the Senate Education Committee will discuss the state's new Adequate Education Act and its implications Monday [May 5] at Mississippi State University.
The public program featuring Sen. Grey F. Ferris of Vicksburg begins at 3:30 p.m. at Bost Extension Center theater. Ferris is expected to outline the workings of the law and its potential financial impact on schools in Starkville, Oktibbeha County and surrounding districts.
Mississippi State and the Starkville Area Chamber of Commerce are program sponsors.
Ferris will be accompanied by Sen. Glenn Hamilton of Maben, who invited Ferris to visit the area. Both lawmakers will respond to questions about the education act and related issues. College of Education Dean William Graves will serve as moderator.
The Adequate Education Act allows local school authorities to issue bonds for capital improvements or retirement of existing bonded indebtedness, up to a funding amount determined by the district's financial ability.
The purpose of the act is to ensure that each Mississippi school district has sufficient local funding to attain at least a Level 3, or "adequate" rating on the accreditation scale used by the state Department of Education.
"We're delighted to join with the Chamber of Commerce in sponsoring this program to help people of the area gain a better understanding of what the Adequate Education Act will mean to our local schools," said John Tomlinson, the university's coordinator of government relations.
"We're also grateful that Sen. Ferris is taking the time to visit and share with us his intimate knowledge of this new way of funding education in Mississippi and appreciative of Sen. Hamilton for conceiving of this program," said Sherrie VanLandingham, the chamber of commerce executive director.