Education Empowers Working Families

Former Mississippi Governor William Winter speaks in Jackson about the importance of education.

Elected officials and economic experts are speaking out against cutting education to save money. MPB's Carl Gibson reports.

"We are going to educate our way out of this recession."

Former Governor William Winter led Mississippi through the early 1980s recession. He says now more than ever, education must be a priority.

"...And of course a workforce training program for those caught in the middle between early education and the needs of the economy now. So its all one overall process that we can't afford to cut back on."

Well-funded public schools are a key to overcoming poverty, according to state economist Phil Pepper. He says a good education means less teen pregnancy.

"Over 50 percent of the children born in the state are born in single-parent homes. What we've seen is the more education an indivbidual has, the less likely they are to have a child as a single parent. And we would see less teen pregnancy if the people simply were educated better."

A less-educated workforce will hurt Mississippi's economy even more, says Senator Hillman Frazier.

"We can't forget about the children, because they are the future. And we have to make sure that we don't cut off their opportunities. We have to make sure we don't frustrate them, because if we make the wrong cuts, we're gonna frustrate them and cause them to become statistics. That's gonna cost us more in the long run both financially and socially for the state."

Low tax revenues have prompted Governor Barbour to announce up to 7 percent more in cuts for state agencies.