Mississippi has 138 districts across 82 counties, and some districts have fewer than 1,000 students. While some independent districts have performed well in test scores and maintained a reliable tax base, smaller communities may not be able to support their schools in the same way.
Republican Rep. Rob Roberson of Starkville is proposing that some districts may need to merge and some schools may close. He said in a virtual interview with MPB, “We need to have standards that we lean into, but we’re not robots and we don’t send robots out there to make decisions for communities.” Roberson continued: “We have to look at these things from the standpoint of what will work for that community, and what will make certain that that community is getting the educational needs done for that community.”
Roberson pointed to the Starkville and Oktibbeha school districts as an example of successful consolidation. The two districts combined in July 2015 to create the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
Nancy Loome with The Parents’ Campaign said that effort succeeded in part because it had support from both the Legislature and Mississippi State University. While she said some mergers can benefit communities, she added: “There also are real student-focused and community-focused issues that must be considered if it is going to be successful and to avoid harming students and harming communities.”
Lawmakers on the research committee met for the first time on June 4, and Roberson said he plans to continue meetings throughout the summer and possibly into the 2027 legislative session.
