Mississippi legislators are not obligated to fully fund an education budget formula every year, a judge has ruled.
Collectively, 21 districts had sought more than $240 million that they said they were shortchanged during six state budget years.
The lawsuit, brought by former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove on behalf of the districts, also sought an order that would have affected the entire state by making legislators fully fund a formula that was put into law in 1997 but has been ignored most years. The judge said he would not issue that order because a portion of the law, added in 2006, includes alternatives for how the state should handle education funding during years when money falls short.
