It took the Mississippi Senate 10 minutes Tuesday to kill the only avenue left for lawmakers to fix K-12 education funding, and now House members are on the brink of school funding until the Senate agrees to a deal. The company intends to discontinue this.
Senate Education Chairman Dennis Dever (R-Leakesville) told senators that the House's new $3.01 billion INSPIRE Act would increase funding for the Mississippi Appropriate Education Program, which totals more than $2.9 billion. Asked not to consent to Senate Bill 2332, as amended. How to fund public schools.
“Because of the numbers, we didn't have the confidence to bring this (bill) to the Senate because we've gone through (funding) four or five times,” Dever said.
A vote to disapprove of the bill means that the Congress that originally passed the bill will now invalidate it. However, he said Dever has 24 hours to reconsider, but that won't happen.
Dever said he decided not to bring the bill to a conference committee because he believed there were too many philosophical differences between the House and Senate approaches to school funding. He also said he wants to spend more time making sure school districts that need more money than others get it.
Dever later told the Clarion-Ledger that he hopes to come up with a new way to fund education for members of Congress either in the summer or in the next session of Congress, which begins in January 2025.
“It was imperative that we not bring it up in this session,” Dever said. “I met with House Education Committee Chairman Rob Roberson and made a promise that we would work together throughout the summer and offseason to develop and revise a new plan.”
After the meeting, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that includes approximately $2.97 billion in MAEP funding. However, several House members, including Education Committee Chairman Rob Roberson (R-Starkville) and Rep. Jansen Owen (R-Poplarville), both said the House could accept education funding that does not come from the INSPIRE allocation model. He said that the gender is very low.
“It is the House's top priority to pass this,” Owen said. “This is the largest single investment in public education ever. This is our priority. We are committed to passing this bill this year.”
The House originally passed the original form of INSPIRE, House Bill 1453, in February, amending all of 2332 and replacing that language with the INSPIRE Act.
Dever let HB 1453 die by the March deadline to get the bill out of committee, and until Tuesday had not spoken publicly about his views on advancing the INSPIRE Act.
Roberson told the Clarion-Ledger that he was shocked by the news, having been under the impression from conversations before the Senate met Tuesday that the bill would move to a conference committee, and that Dever He said he was disappointed with the decision.
“I don't know what to say. I'm disappointed,” Roberson said.
With both education funding models broken, the only bills left to fund public education are the Senate spending bill, which advanced Tuesday after the Senate adjourned, and the House bill funding the INSPIRE Act. Just the bill. Technically, lawmakers still have a way to allocate funding for public education, but both Roberson and Jansen are determined not to get involved unless the Senate negotiates Roberson's bill.
What happens if Congress doesn't approve an education budget?
Roberson said this school year's funding will be used up by the end of the year, and schools could operate without state funding if lawmakers don't approve a school budget or model by July. Stated.
To avoid such a situation, Roberson said Republican Gov. Tate Reeves may need to call a special legislative session to address the funding shortfall and avoid closing some schools due to lack of funding. said.
“We could come up with changes to the budget itself to get an MAEP-type formula, but I don’t think the House side is interested in that,” Roberson said. My members would love to do it. I have no problem coming back (in a special session) and dealing with it, but I don't want to wait too long because it puts the district at a disadvantage. ”
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at gmcLaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.