Tight schedule: Leaders set 1 hour hearing on school funding

(AP) — For at least one hour Thursday afternoon, people will be able to orally address lawmakers about possible changes to Mississippi's method of funding public schools.

In a news release last week, Gunn and Reeves said they would announce multiple public meetings on possible changes to the current Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

The funding formula determines how $2.2 billion is divided among Mississippi's public schools.

Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, who helped write the formula in 1997, continued to be critical of the decision to hire New Jersey-based EdBuild to recommend possible changes, saying the time between EdBuild's hiring and the end of the 2017 Legislature is too short for a meaningful study.