Senate Republicans break ranks to kill historic school funding overhaul

Eight Republicans crossed the aisle Thursday to help kill a landmark overhaul of Mississippi's school funding formula on which GOP legislative leaders have worked for two years.

After the vote, Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves blamed the press and a “block vote” by Democrats for the bill’s failure. He only addressed the nearly one-quarter of his 33-member GOP caucus who helped kill it in passing.

“You’ll have to talk to them about how and why they chose to vote the way they did,” Reeves said.

Another four Republican senators were either absent or did not vote Thursday. The vote was 27-21 to recommit the bill.

Republican Sen. Chad McMahan of Guntown said he voted to kill the bill because his constituents back home didn't support it.

More: House passes MAEP education funding overhaul after partisan floor fight

“I spoke with leaders in my district, I spoke with educators and parents and with county supervisors and no one in my district wanted me to support this,” McMahan said. “Literally, I had not one phone call for me to support this. Ultimately I’m here to support what my district wants me to do and I did what my district asked of me.”

Republican leaders have long called for a rewrite of the state’s school budget formula, which has only been fully funded twice in its 20-year history.

The new formula bill authored by House Speaker Philip Gunn, Clinton, was projected to deliver an additional $108 million to the state’s public schools over the course of seven years. It was seen as a boon by top lawmakers tired of a political headache caused by the Legislature’s failure to meet spending targets demanded in current law.

Proponents argued that the bill would distribute funds for add-on programs for special education and gifted students more equitably than the current system.

The proposal started with a building block known as a base student cost. Districts would receive $4,800 for each student enrolled, excluding those in pre-kindergarten. Extra amounts would be allocated for students in need of more resources, including those from low-income households and those receiving special education services. Schools would also receive an additional $1,440 for each high school student.

Supporters also praised the proposal's vision of providing more money for students learning English for the first time.

The GOP-majority House approved the measure in January with few defectors and help from a couple of Democrats. But it became apparent during a floor debate Thursday that Reeves' Senate leadership was struggling to round up enough Republican votes to pass the measure.

Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, an architect of the current funding formula passed in 1997, used the Republican wavering to his advantage Thursday. He made a motion to send the measure back to committee, which effectively killed the bill for the 2018 session.

Reeves' staffers could be seen calling senators off to the side of the floor and haggling with them prior to the vote.

“Why do they have to keep calling in people and twisting their arms to get the votes for the new formula?” Bryan asked.

Reeves has often criticized the House for not being able to pass major GOP initiatives. He said the Senate didn't take up a private school voucher bill this year because the House lacked votes to pass it. This angered Gunn, who called Reeves blaming the House on Senate inaction "laughable," and a "lame, weak excuse they have every time they fail to pass a bill."

Tables turned on Thursday, with Gunn expressing disappointment at the Senate vote.

“Those senators who did not support the legislation failed to do what is best for the students,” Gunn said in a statement. “They let the politics of public education get in the way of our students. We can argue about the dollar amount all day long, but no one can refute that this was a better way to fund education.”

Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, noted that other major education reforms, such as expansion of charter schools, took multiple attempts and years to pass.

But with state senators up for re-election next year, Tollison said he was uncertain if a new school funding plan would emerge in the 2019 legislative session.

Under the new formula, a fourth of the state's school districts were projected to eventually see state money drop below current levels, mainly due to a decline in enrollment.

But proponents saw promise in the proposal's move to increase funding for children from low-income households by a projected $74 million.

“The fact of the matter is that there are a lot kids across Mississippi who are losers today,” Reeves told reporters. “There are a lot of kids that come from backgrounds and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who were going to be funded at a higher level than they’re currently getting funded.”

As part of the deal for a new funding plan, all districts in the state would have been shielded from funding losses for the next two years. Reeves indicated that the bill's failure means the hold harmless provision no longer exists. So districts with declining enrollment might see less under MAEP next year.

Reeves said because of this some schools, and superintendents who lobbied against the new formula, may regret it.

"If you live in Lee County or you go to Tupelo Public Schools they would have received more money for their school districts next year," Reeves said. "Since the plan didn’t pass the likelihood that they’re going to see less money next year than they’re seeing this year is pretty high.

"Maybe when the superintendents see that is ultimately the case they’re probably not going to like the fact that they lobbied so hard against the bill that actually would have benefited them and their school districts."

Vote breakdown from the Associated Press:

Democrats voting (yes)

Barnett, Heidelberg; Blackmon, Canton; Blount, Jackson; Bryan, Amory; Butler, Port Gibson; Dawkins, Pass Christian; Dearing, Natchez; Frazier, Jackson; Horhn, Jackson; R. Jackson, Marks; S. Jackson, Preston; Jolly, Houston; Jordan, Greenwood; Norwood, Jackson; D. Simmons, Greenville; W. Simmons, Cleveland; Turner-Ford, West Point; Wilemon, Belmont; Witherspoon, McComb.

Republicans voting yes (8)

Browning, Pontotoc; Carmichael, Meridian; DeBar, Leakesville; Gollott, Biloxi; Hopson, Vicksburg; McMahan, Guntown; Michel, Jackson; Seymour, Vancleave.

Republicans voting no (21)

Blackwell, Southaven; Branning, Philadelphia; Burton, Newton; Carter, Gulfport; Caughman, Mendenhall; Chassaniol, Winona; Clarke, Hollandale; Fillingane, Sumrall; Harkins, Brandon; Hill, Picayune; Hudson, Hattiesburg; Massey, Nesbit; McDaniel, Ellisville; Parker, Olive Branch; Parks, Corinth; Polk, Hattiesburg; Tollison, Oxford; Watson, Hurley; Whaley, Potts Camp; Wiggins, Pascagoula; Younger, Columbus.

Republican not voting (2)

G. Jackson, French Camp; Moran, Kiln.

Republicans absent (2)

Doty, Brookhaven; Kirby, Pearl.