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Mississippi education board reviews conservative $3.3 billion FY2027 budget request
Summary
At a special called meeting in Jackson, Department of Education staff presented a FY2027 budget request that relies heavily on the Mississippi School Funding Formula and includes new asks for literacy, school safety, and technology while noting uncertainty in federal funding and pending legislative actions.
At a special called meeting in Jackson, Miss. the Mississippi Department of Education presented its FY2027 budget request, a conservative package totaling about $3.3 billion that officials said largely funds the Mississippi School Funding Formula and several targeted program increases.
The presentation, given by Miss Wiggins, positioned the department’s request as “razor thin” and tied most of the agency’s ask to student funding under the Mississippi School Funding Formula. Dr. Evans and other board members questioned details and flagged several items that depend on pending legislative or federal decisions.
Why it matters: agency leaders said the preliminary estimate to fully fund the Mississippi School Funding Formula is about $2.9 billion — roughly 89% of the department’s requested total — leaving relatively little discretionary state funding for other priorities. Department staff also warned that uncertainty at the federal level could reduce grant funding that currently supports multiple programs.
Key figures and program requests cited in the presentation include a total agency request of about $3.3 billion for FY2027 and a preliminary Chickasaw School Fund estimate of $19 million. The department identified the general education appropriation request at roughly $233–$234 million, a nearly 10% increase over the projected FY2026 appropriation. Agency operations were described as less than 1% of the total agency budget (about $21–$22 million), with a requested $4 million increase for operations over the FY2026 projection.
Major new or increased line items discussed: - A $9 million request for an adolescent literacy initiative covering upper elementary and middle grades; the department said this would fund staff, administrative support and professional development. - A $6.7 million request to implement a legislatively required driver-training program tied to Senate Bill 2695 (described in the presentation as a 2024 regular-session measure); staff called this an unfunded mandate that had been delayed for implementation. - A request of roughly $2.1–$2.2 million to continue a synchronous learning platform the department had temporarily funded with other sources. - A $1.1 million increase to support operational costs and licensing for the MSIS 2 student information system deployment. - A $1 million increase to expand the Community-Oriented Policing Services program to support a 50/50 salary match for school resource officers covering 182 SROs and 278 school districts. - Targeted increases for special schools: Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) requested about $474,000 for two positions and other needs; Mississippi School for the Arts asked for about $713,000; Mississippi School for the Deaf and Blind requested about $1.6 million for braille textbooks, utilities and related costs.
The presentation also included more modest or continuing requests such as $3.6 million for early childhood expansion, $2.8 million for statewide assessment test security, $447,000 to continue an educator licensure call center, and smaller amounts for professional development, accreditation reviews and career-and-technical education support.
Miss Wiggins said the request was deliberately conservative: “we have really tried our best to cut it to the point where, like, it's razor thin from a state standpoint,” a remark attributed in the meeting to Dr. Evans summarizing the budget approach. At the same time, staff cautioned that federal funding remains uncertain and that some federally supported initiatives may need alternative state support if federal streams change.
Board discussion focused on two procedural and contingent items: (1) the department will return to the board in July with final FY2027 MSFF and Chickasaw numbers once legislative action is complete, and (2) the department and MSMS are finalizing a one-year, year-to-year memorandum of understanding about facility responsibilities; staff said a final MOU is expected back to the board in July. No formal budget adoption vote was taken at the meeting; the session was a presentation and Q&A on the request.
The board approved the meeting agenda at the start of the session by voice vote and adjourned after the presentation. The department said it would present a final FY2027 request and related documents at the July board meeting.
