The headline reads, “Budget Cuts.” We as Mississippian’s have seen this all too often over the past decade or so. As a matter of fact, in 2016, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant made a total of five announcements regarding cuts to the state’s overall budget. Most all state agencies have been affected by the cuts, some budgets, however, such as the main K-12 public education budget, have been spared the blunt of these cuts.
But, still, it doesn’t ease the fear of some teachers and coaches within a given school district. Most often, even the rumor of cuts (those not necessarily coming from the state budget, but are enough to keep others on edge. And for a good reason. One such example is Laurel teaching assistant/assistant basketball coach Kennedy Purvis.
Purvis has been employed with the Laurel School District since 2010-2011. He calls himself a “Laurel guy through and through.”
“I played here,” said Purvis. “I graduated here in 1996, so I’m a Laurel kid. I know what its like to wear the Cardinal and Gold. I know the blood, sweat and tears that it takes to wear these colors. There’s nothing like wearing the Cardinal and Gold.”
Like with most all teachers and coaches, the contribution and mark they make on students within a school can’t be replaced or carbon copy. Each is his or her on. It’s the students that suffer the most.
“I don’t think people understand what all guys like Coach Purvis do,” said Laurel head basketball coach Marcus Price. “He’s a guy that can communicate well with other people and build relationships with kids in ways that I might not be able too. He’s also a guy that been instrumental in getting kids connected to college coaches and that gives kids the opportunity to go to college and get a free education.”
Price says guys like Purvis do a lot of programs, much of such goes unnoticed.Â
Kids often have a natural drawing to some teachers/coaches while they may not have towards others. It’s in those relationships that bounds are formed, and kids are effected positively. Budget cuts threaten those things, and often are given the title “a necessary evil.”
“I want to see students strive to be successful,” Purvis said. “I try to make sure kids are eligible [for sports, band, etc.]. I tell kids that I get to mentor because of my position that their grades are the most important things. I push those kids to do their very best and let them have the freedom to choose where they want to go and what they want to do. I want to make sure kids are making the decision that is best for them.”
Mississippi ranks last (50th) in national student achievement rankings. Mississippi’s experience shows that appropriate school funding is correlated with its achievements.Â
There are 151 public school districts in Mississippi that serve almost 500,000 students and employs more than 32,000 teachers, according to the Mississippi Department of Education. Schools in Mississippi who score below the national average are often those that have suffered the most in cuts over the past several decades.Â
