State lawmakers have made it illegal for school districts to spend any public money on the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents, saying district leaders personally attacked state officials while they were seeking votes for a school funding initiative last year.
The move creates an uncertain future for what traditionally has been Mississippi’s most powerful school lobbying group. The long-term power of the association was already in question after the legislature voted this year to make all superintendents appointive.
Association leaders face the loss of a majority of the group’s revenue. Many school administrators use the group’s two yearly conferences to earn continuing education credits to renew state teaching licenses.