Mississippi
Mississippi to change school funding. Here’s why it’s such a big deal
- MCPP’s Douglas Carswell says last week’s education funding reform win shows that when reformers in Mississippi work together, they win.
Imagine if all the restaurants in your neighbourhood were guaranteed the same revenue even if they managed to serve fewer customers?
That’s pretty much how Mississippi has been funding public education for the past thirty years, under the so-called Mississippi Adequate Education Funding Formula Program, or MAEP system.
Under MAEP, taxpayer dollars are allocated in a way that suited education administrators and local bureaucrats. Under the so-called ‘hold harmless’ provisions of the MAEP, they did not need to worry about loss of revenue, even if they lost students and underperformed.
Last week, the Mississippi legislature finally voted to replace the antiquated MAEP system, with the new Mississippi Student Funding Formula. HB 4130 passed unanimously in the House, and before sailing through the Senate on a 49-3 vote.
Under the new Student Funding Formula, Mississippi will fund actual students, not a self-serving system. What does this mean in practice?
Every student will now be allocated a base amount of $6,695. On top of that base amount, a weighted system will be used to allocate additional funds to each student depending on their individual circumstances.
MAEP treated every child as if they were an identical accounting unit on a bureaucratic spreadsheet. As every parent knows, each child is different and has different needs. The new Student Funding Formula recognizes this fact. Children with special needs, or particularly gifted students, get more, as do those from lower income neighborhoods.
The new formula has a specific weighting for career and technical education, too, which could be important for future workforce development.
Also important is the fact that those crony ‘hold harmless’ deals, which reward mediocrity, will be terminated in 2027.
Early on in this session, Speaker Jason White made it clear that he was 100 percent committed to getting this new funding formula passed. Both he, and the Chairman of the House Education Committee, Rob Roberson, who authored the bill, deserve enormous credit for getting it though the legislature. Kudos, too, to Jansen Owen and Kent McCarty.
Frankly, this bill would not have passed without a strong lead from the Governor, Tate Reeves, as well. He made it clear that he was 100 percent behind this reform, and repeatedly talked about the need to fund students, not a system.
HB 4130 is really important for the future of education reform. Perhaps, though, there is an even greater significance in its passage through the legislature.
What happened last week shows that Mississippi has leaders that are willing to spend political capital achieving the kind of change our state needs. Do-nothing intransigence is not so powerful after all.
When reformers in our state work together, they win.
Mississippi College baseball has won the series against West Florida for the first time ever
The Choctaws have been playing UWF since 2015
MC won the first two games and put on a bit of a comeback in game 3
Next: GSC at Delta St., then Conference Tournament
GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — A George County High School senior is dead after an SUV hit him while bicycling on Highway 26 Friday night.
Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) officials said at 8:15 p.m. the MHP responded to a fatal crash on Highway 26 in George County.
Those officials said a Ford SUV traveling west on Highway 26 collided with 18-year-old Tyree Bradley of McLain, Mississippi, who was bicycling.
Bradley was fatally injured and died at the scene, MHP officials said.
The crash remains under investigation by the MHP.
See a spelling or grammar error in this story? Report it to our team HERE.
Copyright 2026 WLOX. All rights reserved.
Some losses feel like they drag on longer than the box score suggests, and Mississippi State’s 3-1 opener at Texas A&M fits that category.
It wasn’t a blowout. It wasn’t a game where the Bulldogs looked outmatched.
It was just one of those nights where the early mistakes stuck around and the offense never quite found the swing that could shake them loose.
The frustrating part is how quickly the hole formed. Two solo homers and a wild pitch in the first two innings put Mississippi State behind 3-0, and that was basically the ballgame.
Against a top tier SEC team on the road, spotting three runs that early is a tough ask. The Bulldogs didn’t fold, but they also didn’t cash in when the door cracked open.
“I liked our fight. I think we’re really just working through some things offensively, and trying to stay together,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “This team still believes, and we’re going to battle and fight every chance we get, and I think I saw a lot of that. I’m encouraged for what that means for us moving forward, but, you know, they’re a good hitting team, and we’ve got to be able to shut them down early. I don’t think Peja [Goold] had her best stuff, but she continued to battle out there and find ways to get outs.”
They had chances. Two runners stranded in the fifth. Two more in the sixth. Another in the seventh. Des Rivera finally got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI single, but the big hit that usually shows up for this lineup never arrived.
It wasn’t a lack of traffic. It was a lack of finish.
If there was a bright spot, it came from the bullpen. Delainey Everett gave Mississippi State exactly what it needed after the rocky start.
“That was just a huge relief appearance by Delaney to keep us in it,” Ricketts said. “It’s really good to have her back and healthy these last few weeks because these are the moments where we really need her and rely on her. We know that she’s going to be a big part of the remainder of the season going forward as well.”
Three hitless innings, one baserunner, and a reminder that she’s quietly putting together a strong stretch.
There were individual positives too. Nadia Barbary keeps climbing the doubles list. Kiarra Sells keeps finding ways on base.
But the bigger picture is simple. Mississippi State is now 6-10 in the SEC, and the margin for error is shrinking. Nights like this one are the difference between climbing back into the race and staying stuck in the middle.
They get another shot this morning with the schedule bumped up for weather. The formula isn’t complicated.
Clean up the early innings, keep getting quality relief, and find one or two timely swings. The Bulldogs didn’t get them Friday. They’ll need them today.
Follow
-
Detroit, MI13 minutes agoGame 21: Tigers at Red Sox, Garrett Crochet battles both Detroit and the weather
-
San Francisco, CA25 minutes agoWhy do gray whales keep dying in San Francisco’s waters?
-
Dallas, TX31 minutes agoDallas Mavericks Owners Might Be Making Big Mistake in Search for New GM
-
Miami, FL37 minutes agoDefense dominates, Mensah flashes in Miami’s spring game – The Miami Hurricane
-
Boston, MA43 minutes ago
A crowd scientist is helping the Boston Marathon manage a growing field of 30,000-plus runners
-
Denver, CO49 minutes agoDenver Nuggets Altitude broadcasts now being offered in Spanish for first time ever
-
Seattle, WA55 minutes agoNeed to shred? Free drive-up/ride-up shredding Wednesday at Village Green West Seattle
-
San Diego, CA1 hour agoGame 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels
