A bill that addresses funding for the proposed sixth and seventh grade partnership school on the Mississippi State University campus died in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, according to the Mississippi Legislature’s website.
Finance Committee Chair Joey Fillingane did not bring House Bill 1573 up for a vote ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for floor action on appropriations and revenue bills. However, funding for the school could still be provided in a larger bond bill that will be negotiated in the final weeks of the session.
District 37 Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus, said Wednesday morning he is confident funding will be included for the school, which will serve all sixth and seventh grade students in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. He said Cornerstone Government Affairs Vice President Camille Scales Young, who is lobbying for funding in the legislature, has also indicated positive movement on the bill.
“The funding dealing with the school will be included,” Chism said. “That’s what the Senate has indicated to Camille. I am confident that as long as Tate Reeves is still on board that it will be coming forward.”
District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, said he has talked with Fillingane and funding could still be provided in a final bond bill, but he is still looking to gain support for the school in the Senate.
SOCSD is seeking $10 million in state funds for the school, which will serve as a demonstration site for student teachers. MSU has pledged $10 million, including $5 million in land, to the project. The remaining $10 million needed to build the school would come from a local bond issue.
House Bill 376, which provided funding for a new Highway Patrol substation at Cornerstone Park in Starkville, also died in committee on Tuesday. Chism said he also felt good about the prospects for receiving the $6 million needed to build the substation.
The Mississippi House and Senate will conference prior to the end of the 2016 session to discuss bond bills.
“We’re expecting both of these to be in the final bill that the House and Senate agrees on,” Chism said.
Both HB1573 and HB376 were reduced to $1 million in funding in the House Ways & Means Committee last month before they passed the House. When Chism first introduced the partnership school bill, the proposed legislation provided $10 million in funding over a two-year period.