Fully funding the public education for Mississippi is just as important in Oxford as it is state-wide, Oxford School District Superintendent Brian Harvey said.
“More funds that come from the state level mean that we don’t have to go to the local tax base to make up the difference,” Harvey said.
According to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, Oxford schools were underfunded by $10.34 million from 2009 to 2015, with $5.84 million of that occurring between 2013 and 2015 alone.
Initiative 42, which would have amended a section of the Mississippi Constitution and given Mississippi Chancery Courts the power to ensure that schools are being properly supported.
Mississippi decided that it would not vote Initiative 42 or 42a into law on Nov. 3. Many have raised questions concerning whether confusing language on the ballot could have caused the failure of the amendment.
This year’s ballot gave voters the option to vote “yes” or “no” for a constitutional amendment that included Initiative 42 or 42a. Regardless of which answer the voter gave, he or she was then asked to vote on which initiative he or she would like; so, the voter could vote for Initiative 42, 42a or neither.
Mississippi legislature proposed Initiative 42a. It requires the state legislature to establish, maintain and support “an effective system of free schools upon such conditions and limitations as the Legislature may prescribe.”
If Initiative 42a had become law, the judiciary system would have lost its power to enforce “an adequate and efficient system of free public schools” as was stated in Initiative 42.
In the first section, 52 percent of voters selected “no” for either measure, and 48 percent of voters chose “yes” for either measure. As a result, neither initiative was added to the state constitution.
In the second section, where voters were asked to select his or her preferred initiative, 59 percent of voters chose Initiative 42, and 41 percent of voters chose Initiative 42a.
Initiative 42 would have passed if a majority of voters had voted “yes” in the first section of the ballot. The second section totaled 534,966 votes to pass an initiative — 185,289 more votes than those who chose “no” in section one. Approximately 709,432 people voted in the election.
According to the Mississippi Constitution, an initiative or legislative alternative must receive a majority vote in order to pass. This majority must include over 40 percent of votes. Because the majority of voters voted against either initiative in the first section, despite the 59 percent vote for Initiative 42 in section two, neither initiative was passed.
If Initiative 42 had passed, it would have constitutionally held the Mississippi legislature accountable for providing adequate funds for Mississippi schools in accordance with the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which was passed in 1997 by the Mississippi legislature to address low student achievement and inequity among school districts.
“Money is not the simple answer to everything, but increased funding surely can help,” said David Rock, dean of the school of education at Ole Miss. “Adequate funding for our public schools is a great start to providing the resources that our children and teachers need to succeed.”
According to MAEP, Mississippi public schools are underfunded when compared to the amount of money that should be allocated to them.
The Parents’ Campaign Research and Development Fund website says the MAEP formula produces a base student cost — the amount that is required to provide each student an adequate education in a Mississippi school. Each district is required to provide up to 27 percent of the base student cost through a local contribution made up of local ad valorem taxes. The state funds the difference between what a local community is able to provide (up to a maximum of 27 percent) and the total base student cost. That amount is multiplied by the school district’s average daily attendance to get the district’s MAEP allocation.
“Based on the vote for 42 and 42a, it is apparent that a large number of voters support full-funding for MAEP,” Rock said. “I believe the results show that people are interested in improving education in our state and putting money behind it. I think the real question is, ‘do we want to improve the opportunities for our children?’ Of course we do. We want equal access and quality education for every single child, which is going to require increased funding for education in our state.”
