Just before the 2026 Legislative session ended last week, lawmakers passed a $253 million bill to fund local projects throughout the state, including roughly $54 million designated for special projects in the Golden Triangle.
Among those projects, Senate Bill 2189 includes a $4 million appropriation designated to assist Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District with costs for building a new Starkville High School, set to be located on the north edge of Mississippi State University’s campus.
District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, said the appropriation – a joint effort between him, District 38 Rep. Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, and District 15 Sen. Bart Williams, R-Starkville – is one piece of a larger pool of discretionary funding lawmakers use to support a range of local funding.
“If I wanted to take every bit of money from what is assumed to be my project money, I could have given every nickel of it to the school,” Roberson told The Dispatch on Tuesday. “Assuming it is a governmental agency or quasi-governmental, I can (give) whatever I wish to that. So it’s not that it’s tied to the university that we’re able to do it. It’s tied to a specific goal of making education … good.”
Roberson said the new high school campus and the school district could potentially be involved in future projects that benefit the entire state, like a STEM-focused specialty school tied to MSU’s “premier programs,” like cybersecurity.
“My goal is for this school here to be a pivot point so that many of our other communities can either use it as a model, … or also if we have a situation where we have grown to a point where we can accept other kids from other areas to help (them),” Roberson said. “It takes money to do that.”
Along with the $4 million appropriation, SOCSD has the capacity to borrow up to $125 million in bonds to fund the school’s construction, as well as a land donation valued between $5 million and $10 million as MSU’s main contribution to the project.
Superintendent Tony McGee said the current estimated cost of the total project is between $118 million and $122 million. Though there are still several factors to work out, he said, the target completion date is summer 2028, with initial site work set to begin by May at the latest.
“The funding will be a great benefit for the opportunities the new facility will provide students in CTE, advanced academics, the arts, athletics and more,” McGee said of the state appropriation.
Starkville/Oktibbeha County
The city of Starkville received $2 million in the bill, half of which will assist with repairs and improvements to Colonel Muldrow Avenue and Lummus Drive. The other $1 million is designated for paying costs associated with the city’s ongoing project to rehabilitate the Ernest E. Jones Wastewater Treatment Plant.
“It’s a large project with a lot of debt required to service it, and this helps us in that regard,” Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch.
Oktibbeha County received $1 million for various road projects, including Self Creek Road, Maben Bell Road and South Montgomery Street, and $50,000 was appropriated to Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department to assist in purchasing cameras.
Lowndes County
The bill also includes an $800,000 appropriation to assist Golden Triangle Regional Airport with land acquisition. Airport Director Matt Dowell said the funding covers the remainder needed to purchase 109 acres south of the airport’s runway to be used for future economic development.
Federal funding, grants and city and county governments that collectively own the airport contributed to the $2 million acquisition.
Lowndes County will receive $1 million to assist with moving a portion of Old Macon Road to make room for a new railroad spur at the port that will be used to deliver scrap metal from the West Bank Port to Steel Dynamics Inc. west of Columbus.
“This is an integral part of that project (to construct the rail spur),” District 2 Supervisor and Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston said during a Monday board meeting. “So we’re thankful for that.”
A $150,000 appropriation to the town of Caledonia will go toward constructing an 80-person storm shelter.
MUW, MSMS, MSU
Old Pohl Gym on the Mississippi University for Women campus is set to be renovated with an $11.5 million appropriation for repairs and renovations. President Nora Miller said the 1927 gymnasium building, which houses a tile swimming pool, will be converted into offices, lab spaces and classrooms.
“We’ve done the preplanning on this, but that’s just looking at square footage and what types of things can go in there,” Miller told The Dispatch. “Now, once these funds are available, we can start the actual plans with the schematics and really look at the layout and determine how it’s going to go from there.”
Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science received a $1 million appropriation for preplanning renovations to the Hooper Science Building, which houses classrooms. Executive Director Ginger Tedder said administration will begin in-depth discussions this summer about what the project will entail.
The investment, she said, is “critically important to both the current condition and the future of MSMS.”
“It represents a meaningful step toward addressing some of our most pressing needs across campus,” Tedder wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “In the near term, those needs include resolving ongoing HVAC and door lock challenges in our residence halls and a need for additional instructional and athletic spaces. Just as importantly, this investment sends a clear message that Mississippi is committed to strengthening MSMS as a high-impact investment for the state.”
MSU received $20 million to construct a new south campus mechanical plant designed to service the university’s existing chilled water loop, along with a $5 million appropriation to assist with the development and administration of the MSU Autism and Development Care Initiative.
East Mississippi Community College received roughly $2 million for capital improvements.
West Point/Clay County
West Point received $200,000 to assist with renovations and infrastructure improvements to the water and light department.
Along with a combined $1.2 million for various road projects, $250,000 was appropriated to Clay County to help cover costs of repairs, renovations and improvements to its courthouse.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
