Mississippi Legislators Push to Cut College Districts as Student Numbers Fall

Rep. Trey Lamar of Senatobia introduced House Bill 1284 in January to consolidate six community college districts in Mississippi. The measure sought to reduce the number of administrative districts from 15 to 12 by merging Coahoma with Mississippi Delta, Meridian with East Mississippi, and Southwest Mississippi with Copiah-Lincoln. The bill did not propose closing any campuses. Instead, it aimed to cut overhead costs by eliminating duplicate administrative structures. Lamar stated that any savings from the mergers would be returned directly to the community college system.

The bill failed to advance out of committee, yet the financial questions it raised persist. Mississippi operates 23 public colleges and universities funded through state appropriations, federal grants, tuition, and local tax revenue. Lamar argued that overlapping districts force some property owners to pay taxes supporting multiple institutions. In Lauderdale County, for example, residents fund both Meridian Community College and East Mississippi Community College. He described this duplication as inefficient and unfair to taxpayers.

Demographic shifts are driving the push for consolidation. Census data shows a steady decline in the populations served by these colleges. Coahoma County lost 5,000 residents between 2010 and 2020, dropping from 26,000 to 21,000. Sunflower County, home to Mississippi Delta Community College, saw a decrease of 4,000 people over the same decade. These drops reduce the tax base and the potential student pool for each district.

Students reacted quickly to the proposal. Cole Cooksey, a sophomore in pre-political science at Southwest Community College, launched an online petition on Jan. 23 to stop the bill. The petition gained more than 330 signatures in its first day and reached 750 supporters by the time the bill stalled in committee. Cooksey, whose tuition was covered by scholarships, said the school’s proximity to his parents’ home in McComb made higher education accessible. He warned that rumors of closure spread online when the merger was announced.

Rep. Donnie Scoggin, a Republican from Ellisville, co-chairs the House consolidation committee and also chairs the House Colleges and Universities Committee. He said his committee allowed the bill to die because lawmakers needed more time to study the issue. Scoggin emphasized that the goal was to make informed decisions rather than rushing to close institutions. He noted that the committee is now examining all factors to guide future legislative action.

The debate extends beyond community colleges to the state’s eight public universities. Sen. Nicole Boyd, a Republican from Oxford, is urging the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning board to tie state funding to performance metrics. These metrics include graduation rates, job placement, and student earnings. The board is developing a performance-based funding formula that will require universities to meet specific workforce and education goals. In June, trustees took a step toward adopting a formula that links a portion of state money to graduation rates, retention, and workforce outcomes.

Specific metrics for the new funding model are not yet defined. The board is still working to establish clear goals for the universities. It remains unclear when the formula will be fully implemented. Previous legislative efforts have sought to address the impending decline in high school graduates. In 2024, Boyd introduced a bill to create a task force on funding formulas. Former Sen. John Polk authored a separate bill that would have required the closure of three universities based on enrollment and retention data.

Opponents of consolidation warn that merging schools could hurt rural students. Pernell Goodwin, vice president of Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus, said that requiring students to travel further would increase their costs and reduce access. He noted that the community college system was designed to ensure every student lived within a reasonable distance of a campus. Bruce Hanson, a former state representative, argued that smaller universities provide affordable tuition and essential workforce development. He said that if these institutions disappear, students in those communities may lose their primary access to higher education.