The Mississippi Legislature has passed a new K-12 education funding formula, sending the bill to the governor’s desk and replacing a funding model that has been in place since the 1990s.
On Saturday, the Senate passed House Bill 4130, dubbed the Mississippi Student Funding Formula with only three lawmakers voting against. If signed by the governor or passed through the governor’s desk, it will replace the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which has been in place as the primary function for state K-12 education funding since 1993. The new formula funds $217 million increase from MAEP funding last year, and it totals $2,957,721,539.
However, the funding still falls short of what MAEP would be by about $100 million if it were fully funded.
It also replaces the proposed INSPIRE Act, a funding model House lawmakers and leadership pushed vigorously for earlier this session but could never pass through the Senate.
MSFF will implement an objective funding formula based on student enrollment, average teacher salaries and other operational and administrative costs. The formula calculates the base-student cost, or the cost to fund each student’s education, at $6,995, which is $40 more than in previous funding models proposed by the House earlier this year.
The new formula also includes added funding weights for school districts that promote career tech programs, have students with special needs and even English language learners, to name a few.
MSFF also will need to be recalculated every four years and adjusted each year with an inflation adjuster.
Senate Education Chair Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, who presented the bill, said he had been working on this legislation with House leadership for several weeks. While he said it isn’t a perfect bill, it is better than lawmakers stalling on necessary reforms to K-12 education funding.
This is a developing story, and it will be updated.
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Education funding formula approved by MS Legislature, sent to governor