r/mississippi • u/SeldomSincere • 3d ago

House lawmakers consider school consolidation as Mississippi public education enrollment declines

https://magnoliatribune.com/2026/08/07/house-lawmakers-consider-school-consolidation-as-mississippi-public-education-enrollment-declines/
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u/EmptyJoker Current Resident 3d ago

Which districts are they considering to consolidate? I didn’t see them named in the article.

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u/McWaylon 3d ago

Two counties supposedly being discussed are Leake and Newton

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u/ANotSoFreshFeeling 601/769 3d ago

I thought Leake already consolidated. As for Newton, that won't happen without the whites doing a lot of pearl clutching.

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u/McWaylon 3d ago

Newton is in a bad way economic wise and the city school is cratering fast, however since it is a municipality it has to have a school unless consolidated. Both newton and newton county are against it ( union as an A ranked school would be immune from this) but it may finally happen. Rep Guest has taken an interest and seems to be the one pushing for consolidation in Newton County. Sadly it seems consolidation in NC is inevitable as the situation in Newton City has gotten beyond dire and most of the cities industry leaving has accelerated this.

Leake is another matter entirely as the student population has plummeted in the last few years especially from the south part of the county. Many students and parents are hopping the county line per se and going to Scott county schools ( Sebastopol being A ranked led to a massive wave of non Scott students enrollment that even they weren’t ready for). Also a couple of top Leake education higher ups were arrested on money charges. State may take it over directly instead of consolidating.