If the bill were to become law, most districts would see budget increases, with the Holmes Consolidated School District seeing the largest, at nearly 28%.
Representative Kent McCarty, Vice Chair of the Education Committee, says that the bill would do a lot for districts that have had to do more with less.
“That is going to be a game changing amount of money,” McCarty said. “If you think about everything you can do with a 25% budget increase for a district that has no local resources, that is going to be a game changer for those districts for those students. And we hope, obviously, that that's a game changer for student outcomes as well.”
Under The INSPIRE Act, all but 14 of the 145 public school districts across the state would see funding increases when compared to current funding levels.
There is also a three-year "hold harmless" provision in the bill so districts that are losing money under INSPIRE can prepare for those losses. In the first year, their funding would not be reduced. In the second year, their funding could only be reduced by a maximum of 3%. That percentage is then increased to 6% in the third year.
If the current Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula were fully funded for the next fiscal year, it would cost $2.99 billion. The INSPIRE formula would cost $2.96 billion to fully fund, but distributes those funds more equitably through additional weighted percentages, like an additional 30% weight for low-income students and a 60% weight for those with a learning disability. Lawmakers estimates INSPIRE would increase school funding by $241 million.
Representative Rob Roberson, Chair of the Education Committee, says these additional funds will help set those students up for future success.
“These are the kids that stay in Mississippi and I'm proud to keep them here,” Roberson said. “But I want to make certain that they have a way to make a good living and I want to make certain that they have the ability to have purpose in their life. I think that this funding formula helps them do that.”
Critics of the bill argue INSPIRE is inferior to MAEP because it does away with the current objective formula for calculating the base student cost for funding an adequate public education.
The version of the bill that lawmakers took up on Tuesday also addressed several concerns raised by educators. The bill now includes funding increases tied to inflation as well as an outside committee that would make recommendations to the Legislature on school funding levels. That committee would be composed of eight school superintendents and five representatives of the Mississippi Department of Education.
The INSPIRE Act now heads to the House for a full vote, which could come later this week.
