A year ago, the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents was on the case of lawmakers over funding and it continues today.
State legislative leaders announced last week that they have hired a New Jersey-based company to study ways “to modernize the outdated” Mississippi Adequate Education Program school funding formula.
Keeping in mind that MAEP has only been fully funded twice since being completely enacted in 2003, but it did help Mississippi avoid losing lawsuits that have occurred in other states over school districts not receiving sufficient equity funding dollars from the state.
Last year the state superintendents endorsed Initiative-42 that would have forced the state to fully fund the MAEP. This initiative gave education leaders a black eye with many GOP leaders who opposed the initiative, which eventually failed.
During the 2016 legislative session, it made no mention of MAEP funding directly in its agenda. Then last week, the association endorsed the just-announced effort by the GOP leadership to rewrite the MAEP formula, agreeing with Republican lawmakers that the current setup does not work like it should.
So what changed?
Well, the answer is simple, money. Lawmakers enacted legislation that looked to punish superintendents earlier this year when it prohibited school districts from sending public money to the superintendent’s association, which provides resources, advocacy, leadership, policy information, training, support, renewal, hope and public relations services to the state superintendents. The group took a major hit after the legislation, with over half of its budget reportedly coming from school districts footing the tab for annual dues and conference fees.
Using the power of the purse strings is nothing new in punishing or intimidating legislative adversaries, longstanding or temporary. Lawmakers in the majority — whatever their party — have used it forever because it appears to work so well. The school superintendents have provided the latest evidence.
While I do agree that MAEP needs to change, this is not the way for legislators to get their way. The state needs a formula that works so that school districts can know their funding beforehand and budget more accordingly, which will make for a more prosperous education system.
– Joseph Brown is the publisher and editor of The Star-Herald. He can be reached at jbrown@starherald.net.
