Why does MSMS need donations?
While 100% of the operating budget for the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science has historically come from the State Department of Education, the downturn in the economy has reduced the funds allocated to the school by 15%. The reduced budget means student programs, classes, teachers, and staff that we are proud of have been cut to offset the loss of expenses. The loss also effects the day to day running of the school, such as new supplies, equipment, and building maintenance.
What does this mean? We should be operating on $20,000 per student who attends the school for academics, residential, and after school programs. We are currently operating on $16,000 per student. The state has added a room and board fee of $500 dollars per semester. While this was instated to help offset the rising cost of food, 30% of the students are not required to pay the fee. The cost alone to feed one student is $2,000 dollars per year. The fee is less than half of the cost of feeding the student alone.
Without the generous support of our MSMS family, we will lose valuable people.
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