Mississippi Public Broadcasting asked the Appropriations committee for $20 million in state funding, outlining plans to maintain statewide emergency-alert coverage, expand remote classroom programming and complete tower-site infrastructure upgrades.

The request included $4.9 million to the general fund, a $2.1 million education enhancement fund allocation and a combined $6.4 million from the EEF/CEF capital fund, the presenter said. The agency also described $3.1 million it received previously for infrastructure work, nearly all of which has been spent.

MPB’s presenter told the committee the agency was created in 1966 with two explicit missions: emergency alerts and education. "Why does the legislature need to be funding the MPB?" the presenter asked, then answered that MPB is the primary partner with FEMA and the governor’s office for emergency alerts. The presenter said MPB issued "over 2,000 alerts" last year and that its tower network covers every county in Mississippi.

On education, the presenter said the state superintendent has asked MPB to expand live classroom broadcasts to address teacher shortages. The agency’s goal for the coming school year is to reach about 54,100 students through live instruction and on-demand video, the presenter said, explaining that a teacher would be in a studio interacting with classrooms over video.

The MPB representative outlined capital projects planned if the funds are approved: reroofing tower buildings, replacing HVAC units (the presenter listed a request for 10 HVAC units), adding transmitters (two TV and five radio transmitters), upgrading security and fencing after a string of copper thefts, and other site repairs. The presenter said the agency has already completed fiber installation at tower sites, installed a new master control system and replaced transmitters and HVAC units using prior appropriations; about $175,000 of prior infrastructure funding remained to be spent.

The presenter also described programming and outreach: two documentaries to be distributed on PBS (one on Medgar Evers and another on musician Bobby Rush), a statewide culinary program hosted by "Senator Lydia Chastenal," and an expansion of locally produced radio content. The presenter said MPB is working with state agencies including the Department of Health, Department of Education, Child Protective Services, VISIT Mississippi and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to provide messaging and marketing services.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about staff vacancies (the presenter said vacant positions had fallen from 13 to six and expected to reach zero by fiscal year-end) and whether the $6.4 million capital request covered tower maintenance (the presenter confirmed it does). The presenter said a longer list of remaining tower-site needs is available for members who want details offline.

The presentation closed with the presenter thanking the committee and offering to answer follow-up questions and provide calculation details about MPB’s claimed $34 million in annual "value back to Mississippi," a figure MPB described as a three-to-one return on state funding based on combined public-service and public-relations value calculations.

MPB’s request will be considered as part of the committee’s budget deliberations; no vote or formal committee action was recorded during this presentation.