The Mississippi State Board of Education held its monthly meeting Thursday, December 18, 2025. Among its agenda items, the Board:
Recognized and honored 2025 Mississippi Blue Ribbon Schools: The Board honored our state’s inaugural Mississippi Blue Ribbon Schools: Bayou View Elementary in the Gulfport School District; Beach Elementary School in the Pascagoula-Gautier School District; and Ocean Springs High School in the Ocean Springs School District. The Mississippi Blue Ribbon School Program replaces the National Blue Ribbon School Program that was terminated by the U.S. Department of Education earlier this year.
Received updates from our state’s special schools: The directors of the Mississippi School of the Arts, the Mississippi School for Math and Science, and the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and the Blind briefed the Board on services provided at their respective schools.
Received the 2025-26 Educator Workforce Development Update: MDE staff shared results of the recent Educator Shortage Survey which found there are 6,907 vacancies among teachers, administrators and school support staff across the state, an increase of 1,747 vacancies compared to the 2024-25 school year. Teacher vacancies account for 3,815 (55%) of these 6,907 vacancies, and elementary and SPED vacancies account for approximately 49% of teacher vacancies. Congressional District Two has the most vacancies with 1,400, an increase of 436 compared to 2024-25. Student enrollment decreased 1% from 2021-25 while teacher vacancies increased 6.99% for this same period. MDE’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Survey found benefits and/or compensation have been increasing factors attributing to teachers leaving the profession.
Received an update on eliminating delinquent federal audits: MDE staff discussed the number of delinquent federal audits in school districts, as well as possible revisions to MDE’s grants management procedures that could eliminate such delinquent audits. Any such revisions could include enforcing federal regulations that allow for the withholding of federal funds to the district for noncompliance with audit requirements. This agenda item was for information only and any proposed revisions must first be considered and approved by the Commission on School Accreditation. If the Commission approves any revisions, the item will come back to the Board for consideration.
Approved the final calculation of the Mississippi Student Funding Formula for FY 2027: The Board approved a final calculation of the Mississippi Student Funding Formula for Fiscal Year 2027 (2026-27 school year) of $2,965,532,853, including $17,091,943 for other programs. The Base Student Cost for FY 2027 is $6,961.45.
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