House lawmakers passed a stripped down version of District 37 Rep. Gary Chism’s Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District-Mississippi State University partnership school funding request Wednesday, which lowered the state’s commitment toward the project from $10 million to $1 million ahead of what the area representative described as a possible battle with Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves over upcoming funding requests.
Chism’s original legislation, House Bill 1597, was dismantled in the House Ways and Means Committee and approved on the floor by a 76-41 margin.
As introduced, HB 1597 called for the issuance of $10 million across two years to construct the rural education center at MSU’s campus, but Chism, R-Columbus, said lawmakers reduced it and numerous other bond bills down to an arbitrary $1 million request as lawmakers approach a period of financial negotiations with the Reeves-led Senate.
A motion to reconsider was entered by three Republican lawmakers Wednesday but dropped Thursday, Chism confirmed.
Both Chism and District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, said they hope to secure the full amount of funding, and the reduction was a way to keep the bill alive as it likely will head to a joint House-Senate conference committee.
“In the past, we’ve sent our full amount to the Senate, and the lieutenant governor then says it’s too much. We’ve decided to put every bond bill at $1 million so he won’t get on his soapbox and criticize us for trying to address our needs,” Chism said. “(The partnership school-funding bill) will be done at the end of the session.”
Two other House bills calling for $10 million in bonds to fund partnership school construction efforts — HB 984 and HB 993 — both died in committee last month, while SB 2392, penned by District 9 Sen. Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, was approved by the Senate and sent to the House.
Unlike the House bills, Tollison’s legislation does not call for specific funding streams for the school’s construction. Instead, it amends existing code to allow SOCSD and MSU to enter into agreements for “designing, constructing, maintaining and operating” the model rural education school and to transfer and expend funds for the project.
This legislative session, local lawmakers have emphasized the Senate’s — specifically Reeves’ — power with approving spending measures.
Legislators have targeted a $10 million appropriation from the state since MSU has pledged $10 million — about half of which comes from a land donation — and legislators previously authorized SOCSD to implement a reverse referendum to procure another $10 million from the local level.
The proposed partnership school will be attended by all 6th and 7th grade students in the SOCSD and will focus on “exploratory” and STEAM-centered learning practices, according to a release from MSU last year.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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