What is I told you the its not the teachers, students, or schools which places Mississippi 50th out of 50th in the united states.

But the administrators, curriculum writers, and superintendents are the problems in educating the students of Mississippi.

I was told by a school teacher that if you start school in the first grade and graduate in Mississippi you will have an eighth (8th) grade education.

As the Legislature began grappling with the state budget this week, school officials in South Mississippi are wondering if lawmakers will agree with Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and make education the top priority for state money.

Why is the question every budget years about education?

If Mississippi wants to get above the bottom of the barrel in education, then there is no question education is the top priority every year.

School districts throughout the state have been saving more and spending less this year in anticipation of mid-year budget cuts like the ones the governor imposed last year, but they're hoping that won't happen again.

Every family having children in school wants their children to have the best education possible.

The teacher can only teach with the curriculum writers provide the schools.

So if the curriculum is substandard the bar needs to be raised, but I have not seen this problem addressed in Mississippi.

If school budgets are slashed again, the only places to cut are salaries and benefits, officials said. And if their budgets are cut, educators wonder if the state will pay for increases in teachers' salaries.

I never here about cuts in upper management, you no the ones in the plush offices, and extremely overpaid.

This being evident by how poor of an education Mississippi provides to its students.  

"Eighty-five percent of the budget is payroll and employee benefits," said Jude McDonnell, business director for the Biloxi School District. "To make any meaningful cuts, you have to look in those areas."

Its like our over priced educators place cuts in education should always be first and not last.

I would like to no what the payroll is to our higher educators excluding the schools and teachers of Mississippi.

I just bet there could be a lot of fat cut in that department, but I doubt if our educator want the taxpayers to no this money figure.

Last spring, the state Department of Education advised districts to reserve at least 5 percent of their budgets in anticipation of mid-year cuts. In addition, the department has withheld 5 percent of each district's monthly allocation between September and January.

Again, I say education should be the first funded on any state, a no brainier; there is nothing more important than education.

And believe me, Mississippi has a very long way to go to get in the top 10.

"We are now beginning to flow that money back to them," said Judy Rhodes, director of accountability for the state Education Department. "But we're advising them to be cautious on their spending."

If the Education Department and our overpaid elected officials would fund our Mississippi schools first, there would not be a discussion about education.

Rhodes said most school districts reserved between 3 and 5 percent of their yearly budgets.

And our elected officials and education department believe this is a good thing.

Donnie Howell, superintendent of the George County School District, said he reserved 3 percent of the annual budget and the district has some reserve money, but he is still worried about cuts.

I find it very sad that a school district has to worry where their next dollar is coming from.

Mississippi elected officials waste enough money to place all schools in Mississippi first, but they don't.

"We could survive with a 5 percent cut, but anything over that would be detrimental," he said.

So what I here the superintendent of George County saying is he had to take 3 percent of last years budget in order to not be short this years.

Mid-year cuts are tough on school districts, Rhodes said, because they have already entered into contracts with teachers and other workers, so their salaries can't be cut.

Mississippi is not a money broke state, it just mismanages the funds (taxpayers dollars) obtains.

Pet projects by districts elected officials are funded instead of education, this is so they can get reelected.

Howell and other officials are worried that in addition to cuts, the Legislature will mandate teacher pay raises, and the districts will have to pay for them.

If I am not mistaken, our Governor just wasted thousands of taxpayer’s money on a Special Session.

If your elected officials can't tackle the hard legislative work during there regular session, perhaps the voters of Mississippi need to elected one that will.

"I've heard that the pay raises are going to happen," Howell said. "There's a mandate, but there's no money."

There is plenty of money, it’s where our elected officials place the taxpayers money that make the difference.

He says if lawmakers are going to require that teachers get raises, then lawmakers should fund those raises.

If Mississippi wants to get off the bottom of the education barrel, money should not be an issue.

Our higher educators, (the ones in the plush offices) and curriculum writers, need to get their act together.

"I'm tired of being the bad guy," he said. "Why should we be the bad guys on the local level when they're not willing to do it on the state level? I'm all for teachers getting a pay raise if we can afford it."

Let find out the amount of taxpayers money is spent on our higher educators, the people not the schools and classrooms.

This might tell the taxpayers of Mississippi where cuts may be made and fund the teachers and schools.

McDonnell agreed.

"We've been through this for several years," he said. "There's no more (state) rainy day fund. They can't cut other agencies anymore. That's our concern - how are they going to pay for teacher pay raises?"

I believe there is a whole hell of a lot of upper management that can be cut, but in Mississippi it's who you are, (the good ole boy system) that keeps the money from being spent on education.

Remember: Money, Power, & Perks + Fraud, Waste, & Abuse = Corruption in Mississippi

Melissa Scallan can be reached at 896-0541 or at mmscallan@sunherald.com.