Mississippi policymakers have known for decades that the state drags behind most others in public education spending.
A new report by a legislative watchdog group bears that out, with research showing that Mississippi spends less per pupil than each of its surrounding states — Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama.
Mississippi’s Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, better known as PEER, released its findings June 1 in a report that is dated May 11.
The report uses information from state fiscal years that begin July 1 and end June 30 — so, FY 2019 ended on June 30, 2019.
“Based on enrollment for FY 2019, Mississippi funding per student from state, local and federal sources was $10,240, which was the lowest funding level per student when compared to contiguous states,” PEER said.