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Proposed K-12, College Cuts Draw Fire in Mississippi

Gov. Haley Barbour faces stiff resistance from legislators and others to his proposed strategy for closing the state's budget deficit. His plans include cutting the school funding, consolidating local districts, and making changes to the state university system, including merging three historically black universities.
—Greg Jenson/The Clarion-Ledger/AP

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s plan to help close a yawning state budget deficit by scaling back funding for K-12 schools, consolidating districts, merging historically black colleges, and making other major education cuts is getting considerable pushback from lawmakers and education organizations.

Gov. Barbour, a Republican who is prominent on the national political scene, seeks to cut K-12 education costs by 9.4 percent, in part by consolidating the state’s 152 school districts into 100. The state enrolls nearly 500,000 public school students.

The change would save about $65 million, which would help bridge a gap in funding after the state has used up its share of federal economic-stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the governor wrote...