MAEP Underfunded by Almost $260-million for FY13
posted 5/9/2012

For the 2012-2013 school year, Mississippi public schools will be funded at a level that is $258,943,631* below what state law (the Mississippi Adequate Education Program or MAEP) requires.

Check your school district's page to see your individual district's share of underfunding.
 
Statewide MAEP funding for FY13 is $19.4-million over FY12's funding level. However, that funding boost is more than offset by a mandatory cost of $23-million that will be incurred by school districts in increased payments to the state retirement system.
 
*Includes the $23-million increase in payments school districts must make to the state retirement system.
 
MAEP Formula and School District Allocations
The MAEP formula produces the cost to provide a “successful” level of education based upon actual expenditures in our most efficient school districts with a successful accountability rating. Once the per student cost (or base student cost) is calculated using the MAEP formula, a district’s local contribution is factored in, and the balance is what the state is required to pay according to the MAEP law.  An individual school district’s total MAEP allocation is figured by multiplying the state’s portion of the base student cost for that district by the district’s average daily attendance. 

Some of the factors that determine your district's MAEP allocation each year include:

• • the average daily attendance for your district
• •the amount generated by local ad valorem taxes (an increase in your local contribution will result in a decrease in state funding if your district’s local contribution is below the 27% local contribution cap)
• •the reduction in the high growth appropriation (affects only high growth school districts; for fiscal year 2013, high growth school districts will receive $4.3-million less than what the law says they should get for the districts' projected increase in enrollment - or about 35% less than full high growth funding)