Free lunch common in some Miss. schools, By Gary Pettus, September 5, 2009, Clarion-Ledger: “In Holmes County, where the poverty rate is three times higher than the country’s, Patricia Jenkins’ children get a free weekday lunch for at least nine months of the year. In fact, practically every one of the 3,300 other students in the Holmes County School District qualifies for the free midday meal, as well as for free breakfasts. ‘For me, being a single parent who’s out of work, the meal program is a big help,’ said Jenkins, 42, of Goodman, who has three children in school, ‘but it’s also a big help for parents who are working and still can’t afford these lunches.’ Based on family income, about 58 percent of Mississippi’s 491,000-plus public-school children qualified for a free lunch during the 2008-09 school year, compared with 46 percent for private-school students…”
Tag: Mississippi
State Budget and Medicaid Funding – Mississippi
- Down to the Wire: Dems say they have Medicaid deal; Barbour still must sign bills before deadline, By John Mott Coffey, June 30, 2009, Commercial Dispatch: “Legislative leaders expressed confidence the House and Senate today will finalize the state budget just hours before the new fiscal year begins at midnight. This would come after three days of cranking out more than 100 appropriation bills — including one for the Medicaid program that’s been the main sticking for months…”
- Miss. Medicaid bill headed to governor, By Natalie Chandler, June 30, 2009, Clarion Ledger: “A Medicaid funding plan has been approved tonight as state lawmakers continue a special legislative session at the state Capitol. Lawmakers had to come to a quick agreement. Medicaid was set to expire at midnight unless they agreed to reauthorize the health-care program that serves nearly 600,000 lower-income Mississippians…”