1
00:00:12,967 --> 00:00:20,272
Hello, my name is David Oles and I am your co-host of the Mississippi Happenings podcast.

2
00:00:20,573 --> 00:00:23,685
Joining me each week will be my friend, Jim Newman.

3
00:00:23,891 --> 00:00:26,463
Jim is currently out of the weather.

4
00:00:26,463 --> 00:00:34,850
He's got a head coat and he sounds like a demon from a horror show.

5
00:00:34,850 --> 00:00:38,463
So he's not gonna be with us today.

6
00:00:38,463 --> 00:00:45,368
Each week we wanted to discuss the kitchen table issues that all of us as Mississippians
face.

7
00:00:46,690 --> 00:00:53,387
And one of the issues, most important issues that we have in Mississippi

8
00:00:53,387 --> 00:00:56,167
is public education.

9
00:00:57,227 --> 00:01:06,027
There's a lot of issues surrounding public education and we do want to take a look at
those today.

10
00:01:06,147 --> 00:01:08,507
Our guest this week is Erica Weber-Jones.

11
00:01:08,507 --> 00:01:21,747
She is a former educator with 20 years experience and she's the president of Mississippi
Association of Educators, also known as M-A-N.

12
00:01:26,079 --> 00:01:28,100
also known as MAE.

13
00:01:28,100 --> 00:01:31,283
And she's been the president since 2019.

14
00:01:31,283 --> 00:01:36,606
And it is a very passionate advocate for public education.

15
00:01:36,606 --> 00:01:36,946
Ms.

16
00:01:36,946 --> 00:01:40,829
Jones, we greatly appreciate you being with us today.

17
00:01:40,889 --> 00:01:42,869
Thank you so much for having me.

18
00:01:44,171 --> 00:01:55,879
One of the most pressing issues in Mississippi, and we can start with this because as with
a lot of things, everything, it's about money.

19
00:01:55,963 --> 00:02:04,683
So if you would, let's talk about funding, how that money comes into the public
educations.

20
00:02:04,683 --> 00:02:06,489
Will you talk to us about that?

21
00:02:07,210 --> 00:02:16,575
Yeah, so unfortunately, especially this legislative session for our public schools
throughout Mississippi, funding is yet again another issue.

22
00:02:16,575 --> 00:02:23,211
But this time it seems to be coming in the attack of possibly school choice.

23
00:02:23,211 --> 00:02:30,451
So that is something that we are working around, kind of keeping our ears on the ground to
what that looks like.

24
00:02:30,451 --> 00:02:38,291
As many of you all know, our schools here in Mississippi greatly depend on funds from the
legislature.

25
00:02:38,391 --> 00:02:44,411
And many of our rural areas where there's no industry, they greatly depend on those funds.

26
00:02:44,411 --> 00:02:51,891
And so at M.A.E., we just really advocate around the public funds staying in our public
schools.

27
00:02:52,271 --> 00:02:53,411
Thank you.

28
00:02:54,312 --> 00:03:06,143
What is school choice vouchers and how does that affect funds for public education?

29
00:03:06,885 --> 00:03:09,487
David, we've seen it called school choice.

30
00:03:09,487 --> 00:03:11,479
It's also called scholarship.

31
00:03:11,479 --> 00:03:15,353
Sometimes it appears in the term of a voucher.

32
00:03:15,353 --> 00:03:17,565
But what we do know is that

33
00:03:17,807 --> 00:03:25,089
Any way that you look at it, it is taking money away from our public schools, putting the
money elsewhere.

34
00:03:25,109 --> 00:03:34,332
Some advocates for school choice say that public dollars would be better served at private
institutions for students.

35
00:03:34,332 --> 00:03:36,772
That's one of the arguments we've heard.

36
00:03:36,772 --> 00:03:47,295
We've also heard people around our charter school movement saying that the dollars would
be better served at charter schools.

37
00:03:47,295 --> 00:03:53,521
But one thing that we know, our public schools here in Mississippi serve about 90 % of our
students.

38
00:03:53,521 --> 00:03:59,245
So that's why we continue to advocate that our public dollars stay in our public schools.

39
00:04:00,046 --> 00:04:08,453
Are there separate requirements between public education and the private schools?

40
00:04:09,195 --> 00:04:10,065
Absolutely.

41
00:04:10,065 --> 00:04:14,579
One thing that we know about our public schools, our public schools

42
00:04:15,439 --> 00:04:17,820
generally take all of our students.

43
00:04:17,820 --> 00:04:19,720
We're not able to cherry pick.

44
00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:27,103
As a second grade teacher, once students enter into my classroom, they were there, they
were there to learn.

45
00:04:27,103 --> 00:04:36,983
But we know that some of the private schools here in our state have the ability to pick
and choose with students that they want to attend their different institutions.

46
00:04:36,983 --> 00:04:43,763
And you were just talking about the requirements and basically that

47
00:04:44,153 --> 00:04:51,109
that the private schools or charter schools can basically pick and choose.

48
00:04:51,570 --> 00:05:01,057
Is there a difference between a private school and a charter school or are those the same
things?

49
00:05:01,158 --> 00:05:07,139
No, they are not the same thing, especially when you think about the different types of
private schools.

50
00:05:07,139 --> 00:05:09,680
that are offered here throughout the state.

51
00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:15,762
Some of them are religious schools or religious institutions with religious backgrounds.

52
00:05:15,762 --> 00:05:24,004
Another type of private school would be one that the peers pay a particular tuition for
students to attend.

53
00:05:24,004 --> 00:05:32,787
When we think about our charter schools, charter schools operate on a different version
than what our private schools operate on.

54
00:05:33,087 --> 00:05:43,675
Similar to a private school, charter schools sometimes do have clauses that allow them to
pick and choose which students they want to attend, and you just won't see that at a

55
00:05:43,675 --> 00:05:44,756
public school.

56
00:05:44,756 --> 00:05:49,339
Public schools generally are required to accept all students.

57
00:05:49,860 --> 00:05:50,861
Gotcha.

58
00:05:50,861 --> 00:05:59,767
Are there different requirements for teachers going from a public education system to a
private or charter school?

59
00:05:59,819 --> 00:06:00,860
Absolutely.

60
00:06:00,860 --> 00:06:10,588
In our public school systems here in Mississippi, educators are required to have
certification to teach in a certain grade level, to teach certain subjects.

61
00:06:10,588 --> 00:06:13,591
You won't find that at charter schools.

62
00:06:13,591 --> 00:06:22,798
Many times those educators there are not certified or have gone alternate routes in order
to be placed in those institutions to teach.

63
00:06:22,798 --> 00:06:28,889
And charter schools really do not have the same requirements that our public schools have.

64
00:06:28,889 --> 00:06:30,510
when it comes to certification.

65
00:06:30,510 --> 00:06:32,401
Okay.

66
00:06:32,401 --> 00:06:38,424
What about children with learning disabilities?

67
00:06:39,525 --> 00:06:49,810
In our public education system, how do you educate those with learning disabilities?

68
00:06:50,131 --> 00:06:53,279
In our public schools, we take all students in.

69
00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:57,711
And so once a learning disability has been discovered,

70
00:06:57,711 --> 00:07:02,784
We have educators inside of that public school who can work with our students.

71
00:07:02,784 --> 00:07:11,740
For example, we may have an autistic student who require additional one-on-one interaction
with an adult.

72
00:07:11,740 --> 00:07:13,522
So that might be the case.

73
00:07:13,522 --> 00:07:22,388
We also have special needs students who require diaper changes, one-on-one with walking,
one-on-one with feeding.

74
00:07:22,388 --> 00:07:27,411
You can find that inside of a public school that would be housed inside of our

75
00:07:27,835 --> 00:07:30,155
exceptional education department.

76
00:07:30,155 --> 00:07:34,675
So students are welcome and are able to receive the help that they need.

77
00:07:34,815 --> 00:07:42,259
I can't speak on charter schools if they're able to accept that and I'm not for sure
private school offer that type of help as well.

78
00:07:45,211 --> 00:08:03,031
Are the, so the private schools or charter schools, they don't necessarily have to accept
a child with disabilities or with learning disabilities, is that correct?

79
00:08:03,031 --> 00:08:04,551
They have a lot is correct.

80
00:08:04,551 --> 00:08:14,523
If that is correct, charter schools and private schools have their own regulations that
they go by and they can kind of craft those regulations

81
00:08:14,523 --> 00:08:18,063
to fit the needs of their particular institution.

82
00:08:18,263 --> 00:08:19,483
Thank you.

83
00:08:19,483 --> 00:08:33,763
That's great information because it is so important that all children receive an education
and even those with special disabilities and also with learning disabilities.

84
00:08:33,763 --> 00:08:37,243
So that is so extremely important.

85
00:08:39,303 --> 00:08:44,115
Last year, I understand that there was changes with the

86
00:08:45,534 --> 00:08:58,895
MAEP, is, and correct me, because I always get this wrong, Mississippi Adequate Education,
and what's the last one?

87
00:08:59,115 --> 00:08:59,615
Program.

88
00:08:59,615 --> 00:09:00,655
Program.

89
00:09:00,955 --> 00:09:03,295
I always get it wrong.

90
00:09:03,595 --> 00:09:11,395
Tell us a little bit about that and the funding and what happened

91
00:09:12,507 --> 00:09:19,353
What is MAEP and how has that changed by our lawmakers last year?

92
00:09:19,753 --> 00:09:20,494
Sure.

93
00:09:20,494 --> 00:09:28,821
So over the past couple of years, we have really advocated around full funding for MAEP.

94
00:09:28,981 --> 00:09:33,465
Last year, the legislature took a deep dive and started to look at the formula.

95
00:09:33,465 --> 00:09:40,511
What we do know is that it has only been funded for two years, I believe.

96
00:09:40,539 --> 00:09:46,399
since its inception, and I believe that was 1987 when this was created.

97
00:09:46,399 --> 00:09:53,939
So one of the things that we have advocated around is for our legislators to really look
at that formula, and they did.

98
00:09:53,939 --> 00:10:03,639
And luckily this year we are under a new formula called the Mississippi Student Funding
Formula.

99
00:10:03,639 --> 00:10:07,239
You may see the acronym MSFF.

100
00:10:07,429 --> 00:10:09,931
So this is our first year under that formula.

101
00:10:09,931 --> 00:10:18,378
So some of the things that we advocated around was really changing the way that the
formula was set up and placed in.

102
00:10:18,378 --> 00:10:28,856
One of the most significant changes would be around how the funds are contributed to
different districts across Mississippi.

103
00:10:29,978 --> 00:10:30,898
Thank you.

104
00:10:30,898 --> 00:10:34,741
I know there was a lot of issues with that in the past.

105
00:10:34,741 --> 00:10:36,342
And like you say,

106
00:10:37,211 --> 00:10:43,091
for many years that it's not been fully funded and I think you're absolutely right, was
1986.

107
00:10:45,311 --> 00:10:55,911
Let's talk for a minute about, and I want to go back a little bit to choice schools, I
mean school vouchers.

108
00:10:55,911 --> 00:10:58,531
I want to go back to school vouchers.

109
00:10:59,291 --> 00:11:07,219
One of the things that I hear a lot and read a lot about is

110
00:11:07,755 --> 00:11:37,363
If a parent has a child in a private or charter school, if they have a child in debt, why
should they not receive a school voucher to assist or help them to pay the tuition for a

111
00:11:37,637 --> 00:11:38,955
private school.

112
00:11:42,139 --> 00:11:48,743
So David, we've all had an opportunity to speak with parents around that issue.

113
00:11:49,123 --> 00:11:59,729
It's similar to when I think about it as a taxpayer here in Mississippi that I don't get
to choose exactly where all of my tax dollars go to.

114
00:12:00,630 --> 00:12:09,485
I know some people would attribute it to being able to choose, like if you wanted your tax
dollars just to go to a certain...

115
00:12:09,955 --> 00:12:13,216
but you know the dollars are spread out throughout the state.

116
00:12:13,216 --> 00:12:26,690
So as we have these conversations with peers about that tax dollar, being able to follow
students to a particular charter or a particular private school, we always have to remind

117
00:12:26,690 --> 00:12:33,962
them about the goal of public education here in Mississippi for all of our students to be
successful.

118
00:12:34,022 --> 00:12:36,591
We do know that parents will

119
00:12:36,591 --> 00:12:41,255
continue to question why their tax dollars can't follow the child.

120
00:12:41,255 --> 00:12:45,358
But for so many cases we see where this is not beneficial.

121
00:12:45,358 --> 00:12:55,627
For example, sometimes in our charter schools, when students leave out of our public
schools and they go over to the charter school and then they decide to come back to

122
00:12:55,627 --> 00:13:00,191
public, the tax dollars do not return with the student.

123
00:13:00,191 --> 00:13:05,665
So that creates another hardship for that particular public school.

124
00:13:06,553 --> 00:13:13,508
That's an interesting point and I know I was not aware of that.

125
00:13:14,249 --> 00:13:23,977
So I do appreciate and so a lot of our viewers probably were not aware of that fact
either.

126
00:13:24,578 --> 00:13:35,386
Let's talk a little bit about PERS, the Public Employee Retirement System.

127
00:13:36,812 --> 00:13:40,534
It seems there's a lot going on with that.

128
00:13:41,776 --> 00:13:57,029
We explained a little bit about that and its impact and what it's doing and what it's
possibly not doing for our teachers and our educators.

129
00:13:58,511 --> 00:14:03,611
So David, I've often been told I've been in education over 20 years now.

130
00:14:03,611 --> 00:14:07,751
And my aunts were educators as well in North Mississippi.

131
00:14:07,751 --> 00:14:16,471
And one of the things that they pointed out when I decided to be a teacher, hey, you may
not get paid a lot of money teaching, but just hang in there.

132
00:14:16,471 --> 00:14:21,471
We have a pretty good retirement system when we compare to our neighboring states.

133
00:14:21,471 --> 00:14:33,209
So that was the one thing that I really held near and dear to my heart, thinking that once
I reached 25 years, there will be a great retirement plan waiting for me.

134
00:14:33,209 --> 00:14:36,360
Well, now we've attached on our PERS.

135
00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:45,424
Many educators are really started to question, we spent all of this time in education,
what's going to happen to our retirement?

136
00:14:45,424 --> 00:14:51,906
This is something that MAE has really followed closely over the past couple of years.

137
00:14:52,327 --> 00:14:57,449
Right now, we are under a defined benefit plan with our PERS.

138
00:14:57,449 --> 00:15:02,553
And some of the talks around PERS seems to want to head toward

139
00:15:02,553 --> 00:15:08,387
defined contribution where educators are actually paying into their retirement.

140
00:15:08,387 --> 00:15:19,444
So some of the issues that we've heard and some of the issues that we'll focus on from
educators throughout the state is that they really want to keep PERS the way that it is

141
00:15:19,444 --> 00:15:20,395
now.

142
00:15:20,395 --> 00:15:31,002
You're gonna hear a lot of arguments about why we need to change that, but as an educator
who's worked in Mississippi public schools, our retirement plan is something that I was

143
00:15:31,002 --> 00:15:32,333
looking forward to.

144
00:15:32,333 --> 00:15:37,666
I have contributed to it over the years just by being an educator here in Mississippi.

145
00:15:37,666 --> 00:15:45,470
So it's something that we're gonna continue to monitor closely because it impacts so many
of our educators across Mississippi.

146
00:15:45,670 --> 00:15:46,981
Thank you, thank you.

147
00:15:46,981 --> 00:15:56,576
And were there some changes to the PERS system for the newer educators coming on board?

148
00:15:56,616 --> 00:15:59,468
Absolutely, my husband and I are both educators.

149
00:15:59,468 --> 00:16:02,267
So we were grandfathered in, we're recent.

150
00:16:02,267 --> 00:16:05,548
teach 25 years and then retire.

151
00:16:05,548 --> 00:16:11,171
If I'm not mistaken, the years have changed to 30 years for educators.

152
00:16:11,171 --> 00:16:15,503
And I've heard talks that they wanted to increase it from 30 years.

153
00:16:15,503 --> 00:16:23,356
And I'm not for sure what that next number is, but we know that is a bit different when
you're right at the edge of retirement.

154
00:16:25,617 --> 00:16:30,419
It kind of goes back to the

155
00:16:30,779 --> 00:16:33,779
Social Security and I'm not wanting to get off track.

156
00:16:33,779 --> 00:16:40,439
It's like the social security issues and wanting to raise the retirement age for that.

157
00:16:40,559 --> 00:16:44,379
So it seems like the same situation.

158
00:16:45,159 --> 00:16:57,679
And before I forget, I do appreciate you and all teachers for the service that you guys do
to the students.

159
00:16:58,339 --> 00:16:59,599
What

160
00:16:59,693 --> 00:17:06,048
would you like to see from our Mississippi lawmakers?

161
00:17:07,750 --> 00:17:09,392
thank you for that question.

162
00:17:09,392 --> 00:17:22,184
As we are now right in the middle of this legislative session, I really want our
legislators to continue to talk with educators here in the state about what our public

163
00:17:22,184 --> 00:17:26,009
schools would look like if they received the funding that

164
00:17:26,009 --> 00:17:27,240
they need.

165
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:36,624
We do know that we're working with the new formula, the Mississippi student formula that
has been in place, that has replaced MAEP.

166
00:17:36,624 --> 00:17:44,547
So just actually continuing to fund that formula so that our public schools throughout the
state receive the resources that they need.

167
00:17:44,547 --> 00:17:53,811
And then I would love for our legislators to take a look at community schools and what
they can do to help our public schools throughout the state.

168
00:17:53,811 --> 00:17:59,553
For those listeners, community schools are those schools that we find right inside of
neighborhoods.

169
00:17:59,553 --> 00:18:09,815
They may not necessarily have, some of our schools here in the state do not have access to
a nurse and other resources that they need.

170
00:18:09,815 --> 00:18:12,836
And that's where our community schools will come into play.

171
00:18:12,836 --> 00:18:21,085
They will form partnerships with the business community, the health field, and provide our
students with those resources.

172
00:18:21,085 --> 00:18:22,671
And not only our students.

173
00:18:22,671 --> 00:18:25,992
but parents in those particular communities as well.

174
00:18:26,072 --> 00:18:29,274
And they would be up under the public school umbrella.

175
00:18:29,274 --> 00:18:39,537
So not creating a new system, just ensuring that our schools inside our various
communities throughout the state are well equipped to serve our students.

176
00:18:40,198 --> 00:18:41,269
Fantastic.

177
00:18:41,269 --> 00:18:43,119
Thank you so much on that.

178
00:18:45,140 --> 00:18:51,993
And what would you like to see from, well, let me ask you this.

179
00:18:52,835 --> 00:18:54,696
and Erin may have stopped at this.

180
00:18:55,957 --> 00:19:02,500
Did I ask the question about what you wanted to see from parents and supporters of
education?

181
00:19:02,620 --> 00:19:04,901
No, but I would love to speak on that.

182
00:19:04,901 --> 00:19:06,862
Okay, let me ask that question again.

183
00:19:06,862 --> 00:19:08,933
Okay, well, Ms.

184
00:19:08,933 --> 00:19:16,917
Jones, what would you like to see from parents and supporters of public education?

185
00:19:17,413 --> 00:19:25,966
So Dave, I would really love for our parents to support our public schools in the areas
that they reside in.

186
00:19:25,966 --> 00:19:30,727
Our public schools service over 90 % of our students here in Mississippi.

187
00:19:30,727 --> 00:19:44,151
And as a second grade teacher, I want to just talk for a moment about how important it is
to collaborate with parents in order to have an education system that

188
00:19:44,151 --> 00:19:47,494
impacts everyone, that is successful for everyone.

189
00:19:47,494 --> 00:19:55,941
That engagement, parental engagement is so important as students enter into our classrooms
each day.

190
00:19:56,061 --> 00:19:58,383
Teachers just simply cannot do it alone.

191
00:19:58,383 --> 00:20:03,987
We need the support and the help of not only our parents, but our communities as well.

192
00:20:04,508 --> 00:20:05,409
Thank you.

193
00:20:05,409 --> 00:20:06,830
Thank you for that.

194
00:20:06,930 --> 00:20:12,775
And one of the final question is, what can we

195
00:20:13,055 --> 00:20:19,257
as Mississippi happenings help do to help you to get the word out.

196
00:20:20,377 --> 00:20:25,719
Let's continue to share and uplift our public schools and our different communities.

197
00:20:25,719 --> 00:20:31,530
We have some teachers, David, that are really doing some great things inside of our
classroom.

198
00:20:31,530 --> 00:20:35,001
So continue to highlight those great efforts.

199
00:20:35,001 --> 00:20:40,727
I do know that during football season and basketball season, our scholar athletes are

200
00:20:40,727 --> 00:20:44,689
often highlighted, but let's do that with our educators as well.

201
00:20:44,689 --> 00:20:50,373
They're in the classrooms each day working really hard for our students here in
Mississippi.

202
00:20:50,373 --> 00:20:52,654
They need and deserve our support.

203
00:20:52,654 --> 00:21:04,140
So just continuing to uplift our educators, uplift our public schools, ensuring that we
are building great public schools for all students across Mississippi.

204
00:21:04,581 --> 00:21:04,911
Ms.

205
00:21:04,911 --> 00:21:06,702
Jones, thank you so much.

206
00:21:06,702 --> 00:21:08,823
I do appreciate your time.

207
00:21:08,907 --> 00:21:15,432
and we will heed your advice and we will take notice and we will also share this
information.

208
00:21:15,527 --> 00:21:29,485
I do want to thank our subscribers and our sponsors and today I want to highlight Alley
Ejlali He is with Alpha Insurance in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

209
00:21:29,485 --> 00:21:32,066
He can help you with all types of coverage

210
00:21:32,066 --> 00:21:41,546
he is my agent and he could be reached at 662-893-0928.

211
00:21:41,546 --> 00:21:50,186
And I do want to leave with this final message and leave this with you.

212
00:21:50,266 --> 00:21:55,352
May we never become indifferent to the suffering of others.

213
00:21:55,352 --> 00:21:55,602
Ms.

214
00:21:55,602 --> 00:21:57,984
Jones, thank you so much for being here.

215
00:21:57,984 --> 00:22:01,807
It's good to see you again and we will heed your advice.

216
00:22:01,807 --> 00:22:02,605
Thank you so much.

217
00:22:02,605 --> 00:22:03,418
so much for having me.

218
00:22:03,418 --> 00:22:04,149
Have a great day.