Mississippi is having an important conversation about how we fund our public universities. Supporters of performance-based funding argue that state dollars should be connected to measurable outcomes such as graduation, retention, workforce preparation, and employment. Those are reasonable goals. Taxpayers deserve transparency, students deserve results, and our state needs more residents prepared for meaningful careers.
Accountability without equity can become another vehicle for disinvestment. Any funding formula that fails to account for that would do more harm than good.
As a graduate of Jackson State University, a state legislator, and an advocate for equitable public education, I believe Mississippi can demand better outcomes without creating a funding system that rewards universities already positioned to succeed and penalizes institutions serving students with the greatest needs…