Adequate Funding for Mississippi’s Education Systems May Require Additional Revenue
September 23rd, 2010
Throughout the week we have heard educational leaders speak to the very real needs they have for the upcoming budget year. An editorial in Thursday’s Clarion-Ledger questions whether the state will be able to fulfill these needs by supporting adequate education across all systems – K-12, community colleges, and universities. On Wednesday, the State Board of Community and Junior Colleges (SBCJC) presented their funding requests for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. A key piece of its request was that lawmakers move toward fulfilling the commitment for ‘mid-level funding’ of the community college system.
In 2007, the state Legislature passed the mid-level funding mandate, which commits the state to provide funding for each student that is midway between the amount provided for each K-12 student and each full-time university student. Through this measure, lawmakers made a commitment to provide adequate education to community college students, 97 percent of which are Mississippi residents.
The example below provides data on student funding from FY 2009. In 2009, K-12 received $5,125 per student, and universities received $7,598 per full-time student in state funding. State funding for community colleges would need to reach $6,362 to meet the mid-level funding commitment; however, the actual allocation in 2009 was $4,074 – close to $2,288 less per student.
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Yesterday, SBCJC leaders continued to press lawmakers to fulfill their legal obligation and move to mid-level funding. To fill the gap between the $4,074 allocated in 2009 and the mid-level funding goal would require $134 million in additional funds. SBCJC is requesting increased funding equal to half that amount in 2012.
Adequate funding for all of Mississippi’s education systems should unquestionably be a goal for our state. However, our current budget environment may make fully funding Mississippi’s commitments to adequate education at every level unlikely in the absence of additional revenue.
Source:
Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges. Top Three Funding Priorities Worksheet.
Author:
Sarah Welker, Policy Analyst
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