School consolidation bill passes Miss. House

February 13, 2013

A bill to consolidate the school districts of Oktibbeha County and Starkville passed through the Miss. House today.

The bill's next stop will be the state Senate. If it passes through, the districts will merge into the Starkville Consolidated School District effective July 1, 2015. The current attendance zones and school district boundaries would remain in place under the bill.

The bill calls for three seats for the school board of trustees to be appointed by the Starkville Board of Aldermen, with a seat expiring in March 2015 to be appointed by the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors. The district's elected seat would remain in an elected position from territory outside the city limits but inside the boundaries of the current school district.

Miss. H.B. 716, originally filed last month by Republican Rep. Toby Barker, has received support from both Miss. Rep. Tyrone Ellis, a Democrat, and Miss. Rep. Gary Chism, a Republican. Both Ellis and Chism are Oktibbeha County representatives.

More information on the development will be published in Thursday's edition of Starkville Daily News.