As the state’s first residential high school for academically gifted students, the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science has been a point of pride in Columbus since it opened in 1988.
The legislature approved the creation of the school during the 1987 session, making Mississippi the fourth state in the nation to have such a school. The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors contributed $1.5 million to the effort, which was used to renovate Mississippi University for Women facilities – some of which date back to the 1920s – for the school.
In the decades since, MSMS has consistently ranked as one of the nation’s best public high schools. Niche, a website dedicated to creating in-depth school profiles, ranks MSMS 62nd-best public high school in America out of more than 19,000.
Boasting a student-teacher ratio of 11-to-1, the average ACT score of students at the school is 30, according to Niche. Each year, graduates are offered millions in scholarships. The Class of 2023 accepted $8.2 million of more than $25 million offered.
Students at MSMS have helped establish several Columbus traditions, including Tales from the Crypt, Eight of May Emancipation Celebration, the MoreStory project and the Community Read.
Former District 47 State Rep. Bruce Hanson, who worked on the original legislation that formed MSMS, said students often take their talents into the community.
“They’re doing things all the time in the community,” he said. “They’re helping to educate young kids in our city. They’re just all kinds of little things that people don’t even know about that those kids are doing every day.”
During a June Town and Tower meeting at The W, Thomas Easterling, director for academics at MSMS, said the school’s expenditure per student is on par with most public schools once room and board is excluded.
The school’s $23,616 expenditure per student – equal to a state operations appropriation of about $5.7 million – is significantly less than that of its counterparts in other states.
The Alabama School for Math and Science, for example, receives $9.9 million from the state and spends roughly $38,500 per student. The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts receives $13.2 million or about $53,041 per student.
MSMS has graduated 15 National Merit semifinalists in 2023, the same number as its counterparts in Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana combined.
MSMS currently has 231 students. Though the school has the capacity for 300 students, funding only allows support for 240.
Unlike traditional public schools, which receive funds based on the Mississippi Student Funding Formula, MSMS receives funding from the state legislature through appropriations.
During the 2024 session, the legislature appropriated $3.63 million in total to MDE for MSMS.
Executive Director Ginger Tedder said MDE’s Fiscal Year 2026 funding request for MSMS has been submitted to the legislature. It includes $5.6 million, a $435,000 increase from the previous year, to fund two new positions, the purchase of a new bus, renovations and improvements and an increase in operating costs.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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