Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn says he is not giving up on getting a new education formula enacted this year, and possibly even before lawmakers leave Jackson in April.
That seems like an optimistic projection and an overly rushed one.
Public schools are already planning for the next school year. A new funding formula could mean significant changes for some of them. They need some certainty of what to expect from the state, so they can adjust their expenditures, including staffing, accordingly.
It would be best to give everyone — lawmakers, school districts, the public — time to digest what’s proposed before it’s enacted. As we’ve said, the 2018 legislative session is soon enough.
