Miss. House Leader Urges Defeat of Education Amendment

BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The second-highest leader of the Mississippi House says legislators have fulfilled their promises to improve public schools. And, he’s urging voters to defeat an education funding proposal in November.

House Speaker Pro Tempore Greg Snowden said Thursday if people don’t like the Legislature’s record, they should elect new lawmakers rather than amend the state constitution.

Snowden, a Republican from Meridian, spoke to business people who were at the Capitol for a state chamber of commerce event.

More than 116,000 people petitioned to put a proposed constitutional amendment on this November’s ballot. It would require the Legislature to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, a budget formula designed to give schools enough money to meet midlevel academic standards. MAEP became law in 1997 but has been fully funded only twice.