No matter how Mississippians vote Tuesday on a sweeping school funding initiative designed to give more money to the state’s struggling public school system, odds are good that lawsuits will follow, school financing experts say. And those lawsuits could mean students will have to wait have even longer for updated textbooks, computers, more reliable buses and school repairs in this poor and rural state that consistently lags behind.
Nationally, 46 lawsuits have been filed seeking improved school funding, according to Michael A. Rebell, executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity. Most states have been hit with multiple lawsuits, and in some — including Texas, California and Florida — disputes have extended for a decade or more.
“I think with all the goings-on we have seen so far in Mississippi, it seems litigation is coming,” Rebell said. “Generally, the wheels of justice do clank slowly, so any judicial resolution of a controversy, with appeals, could take several years.”
Rebell said, however, that often, when plaintiffs are credible and have strong backing, looming litigation can push lawmakers to better fund public schools.
Nevada, Utah, Hawaii and Delaware are the only states that have not had school funding lawsuits filed, according to the Campaign for Educational Equity, housed at Teachers College, Columbia University. (The Hechinger Report is an independently funded unit of Teachers College)
Mississippi previously had a lawsuit filed by former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove that tried to push the legislature to retroactively fund schools. That case was unsuccessful, in part because the state’s existing constitutional language did not provide public school students with a guarantee of adequate or equitable funding.
Snowden said Monday he is leaning toward a vote for full funding if 42 passes, but has not yet consulted with Republican legislative leadership. He says he also is concerned about potential budget cuts that might need to be made if K-12 education is fully funded.
“My personal opinion is that if 42 passes, we fund the formula, and then people would have a harder time suing, saying the funding that is there isn’t adequate,” Snowden said. “But I could be talked out of that.”
If 42 passes, funding would be determined using the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) formula, established as state law in 1997 as part of an effort to better fund public education and provide relief to districts in areas with weak local tax bases.
The formula was written into law as a promise to public schools, but it’s been funded just twice in 18 years. The constitutional amendment would give teeth to the 1997 law, and if requirements of the amendment weren’t met, the state’s chancery courts could enforce funding. An appeal could then go to the state supreme court.
In Mississippi, the state constitution requires the state to maintain and support free public schools, but leaves the level of funding up to the legislature. Other state constitutions require their public schools to meet a certain level of quality or include strong mandates for how schools should be funded. State constitutions in Florida and Washington, for example, state that providing education is the legislature’s “paramount duty.”
Nationally, 46 lawsuits have been filed seeking improved school funding, according to Michael A. Rebell, executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity. Most states have been hit with multiple lawsuits, and in some — including Texas, California and Florida — disputes have extended for a decade or more.
“I think with all the goings-on we have seen so far in Mississippi, it seems litigation is coming,” Rebell said. “Generally, the wheels of justice do clank slowly, so any judicial resolution of a controversy, with appeals, could take several years.”
Rebell said, however, that often, when plaintiffs are credible and have strong backing, looming litigation can push lawmakers to better fund public schools.
Nevada, Utah, Hawaii and Delaware are the only states that have not had school funding lawsuits filed, according to the Campaign for Educational Equity, housed at Teachers College, Columbia University. (The Hechinger Report is an independently funded unit of Teachers College)
Mississippi previously had a lawsuit filed by former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove that tried to push the legislature to retroactively fund schools. That case was unsuccessful, in part because the state’s existing constitutional language did not provide public school students with a guarantee of adequate or equitable funding.
Snowden said Monday he is leaning toward a vote for full funding if 42 passes, but has not yet consulted with Republican legislative leadership. He says he also is concerned about potential budget cuts that might need to be made if K-12 education is fully funded.
“My personal opinion is that if 42 passes, we fund the formula, and then people would have a harder time suing, saying the funding that is there isn’t adequate,” Snowden said. “But I could be talked out of that.”
If 42 passes, funding would be determined using the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) formula, established as state law in 1997 as part of an effort to better fund public education and provide relief to districts in areas with weak local tax bases.
The formula was written into law as a promise to public schools, but it’s been funded just twice in 18 years. The constitutional amendment would give teeth to the 1997 law, and if requirements of the amendment weren’t met, the state’s chancery courts could enforce funding. An appeal could then go to the state supreme court.
In Mississippi, the state constitution requires the state to maintain and support free public schools, but leaves the level of funding up to the legislature. Other state constitutions require their public schools to meet a certain level of quality or include strong mandates for how schools should be funded. State constitutions in Florida and Washington, for example, state that providing education is the legislature’s “paramount duty.”
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