School Funding Debate Continues in Jackson

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi state senators are scheduled to begin discussing on Wednesday a plan to rewrite Mississippi’s school funding formula.

Officials made the announcement Tuesday as senators met with a consultant who helped develop ideas that were incorporated into House Bill 957 , which representatives passed last month.

Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison, an Oxford Republican, says his committee will discuss the bill passed by the House, but won’t vote or take up any changes until next week. His committee must act on the bill before a Tuesday deadline.

The new formula would replace the current Mississippi Adequate Education Program. The bill envisions increasing funding by $107 million over seven years. But even then, it would spend $157 million less than the current formula legally mandates next year..