As Mississippi lawmakers continue to consider a new school-funding formula, one local school district could see less money –  a lot less money.

With a vote of 66-54, the House on Wednesday passed HB 957, or the Mississippi Uniform Per Student Funding Formula Act of 2018, which would replace the current Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

But the new funding formula, embraced by state House Republicans in Jackson, would pull $383 per student from the Enterprise School District, while funding to other districts, such as Meridian Public Schools and Lauderdale County Schools, would increase by $128 and $117 per student respectively.

The measure has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

“Everything that we have is a need, and when you start cutting school districts like us, we’re going to have to find different ways to fund what we do,” said Enterprise Schools Superintendent Josh Perkins.

While 118 districts stand to gain money from the new formula, Enterprise is among 24 that would lose funding, along with the Montgomery County, Moss Point and West Bolivar school districts.

According to the bill, the formula would add $107 million to the current funding amount over seven years, but that amount is $157 million less than MAEP’s recommended disbursement for next year if fully funded.

Districts would receive a base cost of $4,800 per student, with extra funds allocated for special education students, gifted students, those learning English and high school students.

Extra funding would also go to extremely rural districts.

House Speaker Pro Tem Greg Snowden (R-Lauderdale) said in an email on Wednesday that students learning English would receive an additional $8.7 million and high school students would receive an additional $190 million.

Snowden added that the base of $4,800 would keep administration spending low, but an additional $106 per student for in-school staff could cover a 5 percent increase for all teacher salaries.

“This base also covers, among many other categories: over $2,500 per teacher per year for professional development, and $150 per student, or almost $50,000 per school, per year for technology upgrades and maintenance,” Snowden said. “… This proposal will provide over $164 million for low-income children. That’s a $74 million increase for low-income students over this year’s amount even if MAEP had been fully funded.”

The bill’s sponsor, House Speaker Philip Gunn (R- Hinds, Madison), recently said the new formula would be predictable, more reliable and easier to understand.

Lauderdale County Schools Superintendent Randy Hodges said he welcomes any funding increase, but he is concerned about districts such as Enterprise.

“Most school districts are under considerable pressure just to manage and do the things we should be doing when it comes to educating our students,” Hodges said. “When you look at the past, MAEP was only fully funded twice in 20 years. That makes it really difficult to predict.”

With the state’s track record, Perkins said there’s no guarantee it would adhere to a new formula.

“What’s going to happen if they do what they’ve done the last 20 years and don’t fund it?” Perkins said. “That’s not anything that supports public education in my view.”

Hodges, however, does favor Average Daily Membership over Average Daily Attendance to count students.

Snowden said the new formula would use ADM to reduce “the administrative burden placed on districts, and ensures that more time, money, and effort are diverted to the classroom.”

“Just as we wouldn’t pay a teacher less money based on how many students were in the classroom on any given day, the state shouldn’t fund districts based on the same logic,” Snowden said. “This new formula moves to an enrollment count, which is fairer and more predictable for the folks running schools than is the current MAEP method.”

Moving forward

How would the new formula play out if it becomes law?

Rep. Jay Hughes (D-Lafayette) said in an email that the formula has no funding guarantee, does not address inflation, removes funding for students in dual enrollment with community and junior colleges and has no provisions for early childhood development.

However, Snowden said the additional $190 million for high school students, up from $41.2 million last year, is “in line with the state’s commitment to college and career readiness and places an emphasis on supporting students as they prepare for life after high school.”

Hughes added that a “Charter School Authorizer Board will help decide what is a fair amount for public schools.”

“This bill does nothing to provide more funding to the public schools, change the pay or structure of the State Board of Education, reduce the number of school districts, or put more money in the classrooms,” Hughes wrote. “ Instead, all this bill really does is give political cover to candidates who are tired of public school proponents claiming they are underfunding public education.  They do this by killing any formula that lets the public actually measure how much a public school should be getting.”

Snowden said the bill allows for spending comparisons across “peer groups” to create a “continuous evaluation loop between the amount of money that districts are spending and the equally important reflection of what the legislature is providing.”

Legislators will also be able to study other alternatives to the current 27 percent rule for taxpayer equity. Snowden said changing this “overnight” would have a “dramatic potential effect,” as such elimination of the rule would cost the Meridian Public School District $170 per student.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report