All we know about the plans to revamp Mississippi’s school-funding formula is we don’t know enough to proceed.
So far, we have the MAEP formula and a report from EdBuild, the New Jersey firm hired by legislative leadership to advise on the school-funding formula.
And the Legislature is more than a third of the way through its 2017 session.
It is clear this process has slipped behind schedule. EdBuild, for example, was supposed to have its report in the hands of lawmakers by the end of 2016. It didn’t deliver until the 2017 session had begun.
We urge lawmakers to resist the urge to accelerate to try to catch up. This is not a problem that arose overnight. The MAEP is 20 years old and rarely has been fully funded. It is hard to fathom what changed about the state’s circumstances this year that would require immediate action.
• The Sun Herald, Biloxi.
