Rep. Jeramey Anderson Continues Plea Over M.A.E.P. Lawsuit

This week, Jackson city schools have signed on to a $225 million lawsuit against the State of Mississippi for money owed to public schools from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (M.A.E.P.)

Wednesday, State Representative Jeramey Anderson was in his home district of Moss Point, demanding that school district also join the lawsuit. Despite Representative Anderson’s continued pleas for the Moss Point School District to join the lawsuit, the school board is saying ‘no way.’

According to Anderson, the state owes Moss Point schools $8.3 million on the 2006 amendment to the M.A.E.P. Over the past month, several lawyer groups, including one led by former Governor, Ronnie Musgrove, have filed suit against the state on behalf of 20 school districts to recuperate a lack of funding they say is required under the education program.

The deadline to sign up for the lawsuit is Friday and won’t cost the districts anything unless they win, but no school district on the Coast has signed up yet. Wednesday, Representative Anderson explained why he is so passionate about Moss Point schools joining the suit.

Anderson says, “When Moss Point asks for money funding their schools this upcoming fiscal year, they need it for text books in our schools. We can’t even afford text books. The basic necessities we need, we can’t supply. That’s why I’m so heavy on Moss Point, because they need the money more so, in my opinion, than anyone on the Coast.”

At this point, the Moss Point School Board has not offered a comment as to why the district will not sign up for the lawsuit.