Video: MS Public Schools and Colleges ask for Additional Funding

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s public schools, community colleges and universities are asking for an additional $372 million in the budget year beginning July 1, even as House Appropriations Committee Chairman Herb Frierson says lagging state revenue makes large increases more unlikely than ever.

Education officials made budget presentations Tuesday to Frierson’s committee, cumulatively requesting an 8 percent increase over the $4.5 billion Mississippi is spending this year on schools from kindergarten through universities.

Some leaders acknowledge they are unlikely to get what they seek, but say schools and colleges struggle to fulfill missions. Lawmakers have long failed to meet funding levels that formulas call for them to give to K-12 schools and community colleges.

This year, legislators are considering changes to the K-12 formula that could reduce the amount it calls for.