Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A group of lawyers including former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is traveling Mississippi trying to get school districts to sign up for a lawsuit against the state seeking repayment of the $1.5 billion that the state had underfunded its K-12 school formula in recent years.

Backers of a separate effort to write a full-funding requirement into the state Constitution are pushing against the proposed suit, saying it could blow a hole in the state's budget, anger lawmakers and give lawyers too much of the money if they won. They argue a constitutional guarantee of future adequate funding is better.

A spokesman for Musgrove, who was lieutenant governor when the funding formula was enacted, declined comment Friday. It appears only a handful of districts have signed up so far for the lawsuit.