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.”
The auditor’s full report can be found here.
Update: The Mississippi Department of Education has since responded to the auditor’s report.
“The Mississippi Department of Education previously provided information to the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor in response to the OSA’s questions about the EEF procurement card program,” an official statement from the department reads. “MDE is sharing key facts it provided to OSA that were omitted from the report OSA released today, Review of Mississippi’s Procurement Card Program for K-12 Teachers.”
Some of the details that the auditor’s office is accused of omitting from its report include:
- MDE typically issues EEF funds to Mississippi teachers in July once funds have been appropriated.
- FY 2025 and FY 2026 are exceptions because the state changed vendors, and new cards were issued.
- To allow sufficient time for eligibility verification and shipping, all cards will be activated on August 1, 2025.
- Beginning in FY 2027, since teachers will already have their cards, activation may occur any time after July 1.
- Cards are designed for reuse, allowing districts to request activation as early as July 1 each year.
“We’re glad that MDE is making the needed change of activating EEF cards before the school year starts,” a follow-up statement from the state auditor’s office reads. “This will help ensure that teachers don’t have to go out-of-pocket for classroom supplies and have the classroom ready to help students succeed.”
