Lawmakers Open 2017 Legislative Session

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The Mississippi Legislature has started its 2017 session.

Lawmakers are scheduled to meet for three months, and their main focus could be trying to adopt a new school funding formula.

The current formula, called the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, was put into law 20 years ago but has been fully funded only twice. Legislators hired a New Jersey-based consulting group, EdBuild, to recommend changes.

EdBuild CEO Rebecca Sibilia says she doesn’t anticipate recommending a reduction in spending. But any changes would cause losses for some school districts and gains for others, unless lawmakers find money to increase total spending.

Legislators this session could also consider ways to put millions more dollars into highways and bridges amid pressure from business groups that say unsafe infrastructure is an economic drag.