Mississippi
Mississippi House votes to change school funding formula, but plan faces hurdles in the Senate
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi House voted Wednesday to set a new formula to calculate how much money the state will spend on public schools — a step toward abandoning a formula that has put generations of legislators under political pressure because they have fully funded it only two years since it was put into law in 1997.
The proposal is in House Bill 1453, which passed with broad bipartisan support on a vote of 95-13.
Work is far from finished. The bill will move to the Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans and has a separate proposal to revise but not abandon the current formula, known as the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.
MAEP is designed to give school districts enough money to meet midlevel academic standards. Senators tried to revise it last year, but that effort fell short.
The formula proposed by the House is called INSPIRE — Investing in the Needs of Students to Prioritize, Impact and Reform Education. Republican Rep. Kent McCarty of Hattiesburg said it would create a more equitable way of paying for schools because districts would receive extra money if they have large concentrations of poverty or if they enroll large numbers of students who have special needs or are learning English as a second language.
“This puts money in the pockets of the districts that need it the most,” McCarty, vice chairman of the House Education Committee, said Wednesday.
Republican Rep. Rob Roberson of Starkville, the committee chairman, said INSPIRE would put more money into public schools than has ever been spent in Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the U.S.
“It bothers me that we have children out there that do not get a good education in this state,” Roberson said. “It should make you mad, too.”
Full funding of MAEP would cost nearly $3 billion for the budget year that begins July 1, according to the state Department of Education. That would be about $643 million more than the state is spending on the formula during the current year, an increase of about 17.8%.
Democratic Rep. Bob Evans of Monticello asked how full funding of INSPIRE would compare to full funding of MAEP.
McCarty — noting that he was only 3 years old when MAEP was put into law — said legislators are not discussing fully funding the formula this session. He said INSPIRE proposes putting $2.975 billion into schools for the coming year, and that would be “more money than the Senate is proposing, more money than we’ve ever even thought about proposing on this side of the building.”
McCarty also said, though, that decisions about fully funding INSPIRE would be made year by year, just as they are with MAEP.
Affluent school districts, including Madison County and Rankin County in the Jackson suburbs, would see decreases in state funding under INSPIRE, McCarty said.
Nancy Loome is director of the Parents’ Campaign, a group that has long pushed legislators to fully fund MAEP. She cautioned in a statement that the House proposal would eliminate “an objective formula for the base per-student cost, which is supposed to reflect the true cost of educating a Mississippi student to proficiency in core subjects.”
“Any total rewrite of our school funding formula needs careful, deliberate thought with input from those most affected by it: public school educators and parents of children in public schools,” Loome said.
Under the House proposal, a 13-member group made up mostly of educators would recommend revisions at least once every four years in the per-student cost that would be the base of the INSPIRE formula. The cost would be adjusted for inflation each year.
Twenty-one school districts sued the state in August 2014, seeking more than $235 million to make up for shortfalls from 2010 to 2015 — some of the years when lawmakers didn’t fully fund MAEP. The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that legislators are not obligated to spend all the money required by the formula.
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Staff
A wood products manufacturer is set to create new jobs as part of a major expansion.
Carpenter Pole and Piling is investing nearly $5 million into its Wiggins, Mississippi, operation.
The expansion will add 10 new positions and support long-term growth in the region.
“Carpenter Pole and Piling is a true Mississippi success story, and we’re proud to see the company continue investing right here at home,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said.
“This expansion in Stone County is creating new opportunities for hardworking Mississippians while strengthening a company that has long contributed to our state’s economy,” Reeves said. “When Mississippi businesses grow, our communities grow with them, and we remain committed to fostering a business environment where companies can thrive.”
Carpenter Pole and Piling produces utility poles and pilings for marine and foundation use.
The project includes construction of a new treatment plant, investment in a 2,600-cubic-foot autoclave and an alternative treatment option to improve production capacity.
The company is also clearing and preparing an additional 20 acres for a new pole storage yard.
Stone County is also contributing to the project.
The company expects to complete construction by September 2026.
The new roles are expected to be filled by January 2027.
Carpenter Pole and Piling specializes in the production of utility poles. It also manufactures foundation and marine pilings.
The new autoclave will increase production and add an alternative treatment option.
This story was created by business and development writer Ross Reily, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.
Mississippi
CBSB: Southern Miss sweeps again, Mississippi State shines in Texas, Ole Miss struggles – SuperTalk Mississippi
Southern Miss earned its second consecutive sweep, rounding out a mostly successful weekend of college baseball for Mississippi’s major programs.
The No. 12 Golden Eagles (10-1), fresh off a mercy-rule victory over Alabama, exited a hostile Louisiana Tech environment with three straight wins versus a former conference counterpart. Christian Ostrander’s crew won 8-3 on Friday, cruised to an 11-0 run-rule victory through seven innings on Saturday, and was on the good side of a 6-2 scoreboard in Sunday’s finale.
A three-run bomb by Kyle Morrison in the top of the fourth of Friday’s game put the black and gold up 5-3, and solid pitching carried the team the rest of the way. A six-run top of the fourth of Saturday’s game, in part due to a Matthew Russo 2 RBI single, broke a scoring stalemate and fueled Southern Miss to a win in a shortened matchup. A two-run long ball by Joey Urban in the top of the ninth of Sunday’s battle gave the Golden Eagles a buffer that would not be eclipsed.
Kros Sivley (2-0) was Friday’s winning pitcher after logging a pair of strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Grayden Harris (2-0) got the win on Saturday after fanning five batters and surrendering no runs through six complete innings. Camden Sunstrom (1-0) closed out the finale with the win after striking out two batters and not giving up a hit or a run in the final two frames.
Mississippi State wins two in Texas
The No. 4 Bulldogs (11-1) had a solid weekend in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. Brian O’Connor’s club handled the weekend test with an 8-4 win over Arizona State, a 15-8 victory over Virginia Tech, and a heartbreaking 8-7 extra-innings loss to No. 1 UCLA.
Mississippi State broke a scoring hiatus on Friday with a strong bottom of the fifth. A Bryce Chance RBI single scored the game’s first run, then a Gehrig Frei homer put the Bulldogs up 4-0. Three insurance runs were added in the next offensive frame, and Mississippi State did not look back. On Saturday, an Ace Reece longball gave the maroon and white a 4-0 lead in the top of the second. Virginia Tech chipped away, cutting the deficit to two runs, until a five-run top of the seventh put things out of reach.
Sunday’s finale was a battle between two teams vying for bragging rights as the nation’s best. The Bruins took an early 3-0 lead, but Mississippi State quickly countered. A two-run bomb by Reed Stallman and an RBI double by Ryder Woodson knotted things up 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth. The Bulldogs added a run in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings to lead 5-3.
A two-out home run by UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky tied the ballgame in the top of the ninth. Mississippi State, with runners on second and third and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, could not send a runner home. A wild pitch and a 2 RBI triple scored three Bruins in the top of the 10th. Stallman hit his second home run of the day to inch the Bulldogs within one run of their foe, but it was not followed up with more scoring.
Winning pitchers for Mississippi State this weekend were Ryan McPherson (2-0) and Tomas Valincius (3-0), while Ben Davis (0-1) was tabbed with the lone loss.
Ole Miss struggles in neutral-site tournament
In its first set of tests versus power conference opponents, the Rebels (10-2) struggled mightily, dropping two of three outings in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic. Mike Bianco’s club fell to Baylor 6-5 in extra innings on Friday before bouncing back on Saturday in an 8-0 win over Ohio State and suffering a 9-2 loss to Coastal Carolina in Sunday’s finale. Ole Miss was a combined 0-18 at the plate with runners in scoring position in the two losses.
Though the weekend didn’t play to the Rebels’ advantage, a few individual performers stood out. Murray State transfer Dom Decker, who entered his junior campaign without hitting a home run, hit three balls over the outfield wall at the Houston Astros’ Daikin Park. Hunter Elliott had a career-high 11 strikeouts on Friday, while Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe collectively fanned 16 batters in Saturday’s shutout.
Next up
Southern Miss will play a pair of home midweek games, the first being against Mississippi State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and the second versus Nicholls on Wednesday at 6 p.m., before hosting North Alabama over the weekend.
Mississippi State will host Lipscomb over the weekend after facing the Golden Eagles.
Ole Miss will host Memphis on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and North Alabama on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., before welcoming Evansville for a weekend series.
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