The Mississippi Legislature does not have an obligation to fully fund a school budget formula that was put into law two decades ago, the state Supreme Court said last week in upholding a ruling from a lower court.
Twenty-one school districts sued the state in August 2014, seeking more than $235 million to make up for years of shortfalls from when lawmakers didn’t fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.
The formula is designed to give school districts enough money to meet midlevel academic standards, but it has been short-funded most years.
Hinds County Chancery Judge William Singletary ruled against the school districts in July 2015, saying the formula is not a mandate.
