Senate plan would fully fund Mississippi public schools for first time in over 15 years

The Mississippi Senate has advanced its plan to fully fund the state's public school system for the first time since before the 2008 Great Recession.

A rare joint-committee meeting was held Monday evening to discuss a plan, crafted by Senate leadership over the last three years, that would change the Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula and provide more than $181 million in additional funding compared to previous levels.

Just hours later, Gov. Tate Reeves released a statement criticizing the plan as misguided and influenced by liberals.

"Be very cautious of a last minute change in funding formula that seems to have unanimous support amongst Democrats in Senate and liberal activist groups. Very very cautious" Reeves said in the statement. "Instead of funneling more money to the District offices — where our kids won’t see it — why not another teacher pay raise? Put it in the classroom!"

When the plan reached the Senate floor Tuesday, it did indeed receive unanimous support, but not just from the chambers Democrats. All senators present, Republican and Democrat alike, voted yes on the formula changes and the accompanying appropriations bill that would give MAEP a roughly $2.8 billion budget.

The formula, which was first created in 1997 and phased in over six years, has only been fully funded twice since the phase-in was complete: once in 2003 — the first full year after the phase-in — and again in 2007. The Legislature voted for full funding in 2008, but MAEP was one of many state programs cut after the recession led to a dramatic drop in revenue.

The proposed changes would be the first ever made to the MAEP formula, which architects of the proposal say is outdated. One of the most significant changes would be a reduction in how much the state pays school districts to account for inflation. The current MAEP formula pays for 40% of base student cost multiplied by the annual rate of inflation. Education committee chair Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville said, that school superintendents have found that only about 20% of their annual costs are directly impacted by inflation. The new formula would lower the number from 40% to 25%.

Another major change also touches on inflation. The annual rate of inflation would be shifted to a 20-year average rate. Supporters of the proposal say this would lead to more consistent funding levels year-over-year, allowing school districts to plan for the future more accurately.

The last major change would be to increase the cap on local contributions. In the current formula, local government contributions to education are subtracted from state funding, up to either 27% of the level determined by the formula or 28 mills of property tax. One mill is equal to $1 of tax for every $1,000 in assessed property value. Many local governments, DeBar said, already choose to contribute more than that level to their school systems. The Senate proposal would increase the percentage cap from 27% to 29.5%.

These changes lower the state contribution to a fully funded MAEP. However, the state has not funded at that level in more than 15 years. In terms of dollars received, every school district in the state will see an increase in funding under the new formula when fully funded.

"Everybody's getting more money, so I think everyone's a winner," DeBar said.

Here's how some Jackson and Hattiesburg area school districts would be impacted, compared to what they were paid last year in the underfunded program:

• Jackson would see an increase of $14,671,349.

• Hinds County would see an increase of $4,123,422.

• Madison would see an increase of $11,096,279.

• Rankin County would see an increase of $15,872,125.

• Forrest County would see an increase of $1,495,880.

• Hattiesburg would see an increase of $3,339,615.

One hitch in comparing the new numbers to last year's is the state's largest ever teacher pay raise. Last year, that raise was funded by direct payments from the state to local school districts, but this year it will be rolled into the formula. This leaves four school districts, each of which have seen significant drops in their average daily attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the possibility of not being able to cover the costs of the raise, even with full funding. For this year, the proposal would grant those schools a waver and they would still see an increase in funding.

The proposal, which passed the Senate before a Wednesday deadline, still needs to be approved by the House. DeBar said he'd had discussions with House leadership, who told him they needed more time to consider the details of the proposal.

According to a Tweet form SuperTalk Radio host Paul Gallo, House Speaker Pro Tem Jason White said Tuesday morning that "he believes there is little chance" the House will take up the proposal this far into session.

Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, was an architect of the 1997 MAEP plan and a supporter of the Senate changes. Bryan pointed out that the formula will soon undergo it's regular recalculation process as well.

"The technical changes to the formula are relatively minor," Bryan said. "What we need to do, and what the bill does, is two things. It establishes fully funded public education and a fully funded formula, and it's important going into the 2025 recalculation that we establish the precedent of fully funding the formula. We've got some extra money now, we can do that."

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the Republican who leads the Senate, said the decision to fully fund MAEP was the end of a three-year-long process, not an example of election year politicking. When asked if the election year played a role, Hosemann flatly denied it.

"Let me be clear, no," Hosemann said.

Hosemann credited the state's recent fiscally conservative budgets with the state's ability to come up with the $181.1 million needed to fully fund its education system. He specifically thanked appropriations chair Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg.

"We've got the money here and the reason we've got this money is because we have been running this state like a business," Hosemann said.

With the MAEP bill having passed both chambers, albeit in very different forms, it will remain alive passed Wednesday's deadline for bills to move from the floor. If it does not return to the House for another vote, it is likely to reach a conference committee where members of the two bodies will negotiate.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MAEP funding could reach record levels under MS Senate plan