State Lawmakers May Tweak School Funding Formula

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – After Mississippi voters rejected a school funding proposal on Tuesday’s ballot, Republican legislative leaders say they want to tweak an education budget formula to push more money into classrooms.

Supporters of the failed Initiative 42 said they are not giving up their fight to improve school funding.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn said in separate interviews Wednesday that they’re willing to put more money into efficient school systems that demonstrate strong academic performance.

Dick Molpus, a Democratic former secretary of state, spent at least $200,000 to push Initiative 42. He says more than 300,000 people voted for the proposal, and they could press lawmakers to fully fund a school budget formula that has been shortchanged most years since it was put into law in 1997.