Mississippi Today reported that a proposal introduced in January by Rep. Trey Lamar, a Republican from Senatobia, would have merged six community college districts into three, reducing the number of districts from 15 to 12. The bill died in committee, but it intensified a broader conversation about the future of the state's public colleges.
“I wanted to start a conversation,” Lamar told Mississippi Today. “What worked for our colleges decades ago doesn’t always work today.”
House Bill 1284 would have merged Coahoma Community College with Mississippi Delta Community College, Meridian Community College with East Mississippi Community College, and Southwest Mississippi Community College with Copiah-Lincoln Community College. The proposal would not have closed campuses. Instead, Lamar said, it was intended to reduce administrative costs and return any savings to the community college system.
Lamar also questioned the fairness of overlapping taxing districts. Meridian Community College serves Lauderdale County, which is also part of East Mississippi Community College's six-county district. Some property owners, he argued, are paying taxes to support multiple colleges.
Declining populations in some districts are another factor. Coahoma County lost about 5,000 residents between 2010 and 2020, while Sunflower County, home to Mississippi Delta Community College, lost about 4,000, according to Census data cited by Mississippi Today.
Rep. Donnie Scoggin, a Republican from Ellisville who co-chairs the House Select Committee on Consolidation, said lawmakers did not want to rush into decisions about closing or merging institutions. The committee is now examining the issue more broadly.
