Columbus representatives intend to make funding, facility improvements and enrollment expansion for the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science a focus during upcoming meetings of the newly formed House Select Committee on specialty schools.
District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, also a member of the committee, said he has other ideas, including potentially relocating the school or opening up a separate specialty school on Mississippi State University’s campus next to the new Starkville High School.
“I know that MSU is very much in favor of doing something like this,” Roberson told The Dispatch on Friday. “… I’ve gotten very positive feedback from the superintendent of education here in Starkville, Dr. (Tony) McGee, who has shown that he’s got … an interest in making something like that happen. … But then again, a lot of this just needs to be fleshed out and make sure that we’re funding it and making certain that it will be successful as we move forward.”
In a press release issued Wednesday, Speaker of the House Jason White announced the creation of six new House select committees to develop policy ideas on key issues before the 2027 legislative session, including one specific to specialty schools. Along with MSMS, the state operates Mississippi School of the Arts and Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and Blind.
Roberson, District 37 Rep. Andy Boyd, R-Columbus, and District 39 Rep. Dana McLean, R-Columbus, were all named to the 16-member committee.
While House members agree in broad strokes on what the select committee should prioritize over the next seven months, they diverge on approaches.
Boyd, who will co-chair the committee, said House members will meet for the first time on June 1 and meet at least two more times before sending recommendations for legislation to the speaker’s office by Dec. 1.
Along with helping the residential high school secure more funding, Boyd aims for the committee to consider developing a clearer governing body for MSMS and build out public and private partnerships at the school.
Many of those goals were raised during the legislative session earlier this year when MSMS administration worked with lawmakers to introduce companion bills House Bill 927 and Senate Bill 2517. Both bills sought to expand enrollment for MSMS to include sophomores, give the school fiscal agency and the local education agency designation needed to apply for funding avenues outside of state appropriations, among other things.
Both bills died before reaching the chamber floors, which Boyd attributed to a lack of understanding of how important the school is to the state.
“Most bills don’t pass the first year,” Boyd said. “… So we need to make sure that it’s fashioned properly, and address the obstacles. … There were a lot of things in the bill that certainly make sense, but we need to think through all this.”
Boyd said the committee plans to tour the state’s specialty schools and host presentations from school leadership to get a clearer picture of what exactly those facilities do and where their needs lie.
In February, Executive Director Ginger Tedder estimated the school’s facilities have a five-year window before deferred maintenance due to underfunding becomes a major issue, particularly in the MSMS residence halls. MSMS opened on the Mississippi University for Women campus in 1987.
McLean, who co-authored House Bill 927, believes that approach will help other lawmakers see the importance of the school and the need for facility upgrades.
“I think it’s key to be able to actually see it up close, and that’s what I hope that this committee will do is … actually come and visit the school,” McLean said. “… It’s really hard to know and visualize it unless you actually step foot on the campus.”
Tedder said the committee has the potential to be a benefit if its focus is on MSMS’s long-term sustainability.
“I would hope to see better recognition of our unique statewide, residential STEM mission, more stable and appropriate funding structures, support for facilities and future growth, and expanded student research and mentorship opportunities through partnerships,” Tedder wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “I also hope the committee helps highlight the important role specialty schools play in developing future leaders for Mississippi.”
A new specialty school?
Roberson said he believes the committee “needs to be open for all conversations,” including developing legislation to open more specialty schools across the state.
Different parts of the state have different needs, he said.
“An example would be, if you’re on the coast and you eventually wanted to work for one of the shipbuilders, there may be ideas that could be plugged in that would allow our high school kids to get some experience understanding what that looks like,” Roberson said. “… There’s multiple things that we can do in terms of talking about what specialty schools look like and how that would affect and how we can plug those in, even within our own public school system.”
When the State Board of Education considered relocating MSMS in 2025, MSU submitted a proposal to operate the school on a joint campus with the new SHS, which is set to be located on the north edge of the university’s campus.
But when the Legislature failed to act on SBE’s recommendation to relocate MSMS, Roberson instead floated the idea to open a new specialty school on a joint campus, one that focused on cybersecurity and engineering.
A relocated, expanded MSMS could fit that bill, Roberson said. But if that plan doesn’t come to fruition and an entirely new specialty school is built at MSU, he does not believe it would hinder MSMS or siphon funding from the school.
“The question is … what (MSMS’s) mission is,” Roberson said. “ I mean, if their mission is to be in cybersecurity, sure. … I believe that we have a lot of smart kids in our state, so I think having an expansion (and) giving opportunities to our children, it just makes good sense.”
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