Natalie Staggers. The Future of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.

The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) is a residential public high school in Columbus, Mississippi, that gives academically gifted students across the state of Mississippi the opportunity to challenge themselves. To be accepted, students must undergo a rigorous application and interview process. Though approximately 300 students apply each year, only 100-120 students are accepted into the junior class. MSMS has been housed by the Mississippi University for Women (MUW) for 37 years, but that may change soon. ¹

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) requested that both MUW and Mississippi State University (MSU) provide proposals to house MSMS for the 2026 academic year. They claim that these two universities were selected due to the partnerships they provide for dual enrollment and research opportunities. In a press conference that was held on Feb. 24, Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin implored that MSMS stay in Columbus, claiming that the students become integrated with the city. There is, however, the issue of a lack of funding which the Mississippi legislature has yet to solve. ²

MSMS does not receive local property taxes and thus receives all its funding from MDE. The amount of funding MSMS receives each year is barely enough to maintain it, much less expand or improve it.

“MSMS is woefully underfunded when compared with comparable programs in neighboring states; MSMS’s funding is $16,000 less per student than the average funding of programs in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Alabama (2 schools),” the MUW proposal published on February 25, 2025, states.

The MUW proposal emphasizes the history that MSMS has on its campus and the culture that this campus has created for the school. Everything, including the library, gym, dining halls and academic buildings is within a 5-minute walk from the dormitories. This provides a true middle ground between the typical high school experience and the college experience, allowing MSMS students to feel safe and comfortable.

MUW plans to implement many new agreements with MSMS, including but not limited to, a joint honors experience with MUW’s Honors College, access to the Artificial Intelligence Lab, mentorship opportunities and expanded educational experiences in fine arts. They also plan to improve security, mental health access and summer outreach program accessibility.

Due to issues with the current residential halls, MUW plans to either renovate the current residential dormitories, Goen and Frazer Halls, or renovate two currently vacant residential facilities, Fant and Peyton Halls. All additions and revisions included in the proposal, except for facility construction, are said to be implemented by the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.

“The partnership between MSMS and MUW is a proven success; the decision to keep MSMS at MUW rather than start over in another location is both fiscally responsible and academically sound and will continue to provide a safe, supportive environment in which these students can thrive and prepare themselves for lives of influence and service,” states the MUW proposal.

The MSU proposal involves constructing a new MSMS facility behind the existing partnership school. This plan would involve a partnership between MSMS and Starkville High School in which MSMS students could sign up for Career and Technical Education classes at Starkville High School and Starkville High students could take advanced classes at MSMS. In this plan, many extracurricular areas such as the cafeteria, library, band hall and performing arts center would be shared by the two schools.

The MSU proposal also aims to increase enrollment by adding a sophomore class to MSMS. Currently enrollment is only offered to juniors and seniors. A residential neighborhood would separate MSMS from the MSU campus to ensure students are comfortable in their own space. They would, however, be able to access certain facilities on MSU’s campus if necessary, including the library and the Longest Student Health Center.

The MSU proposal would require $86 million from the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, $5 million (of land) from MSU and $85 million from MDE. The MUW proposal offers two options: renovating Fant and Peyton Hall (each of which would cost approximately $22 million) or building a new facility to house students (costing around $35 million). ³

Lindsay Clemons is the mother of Hutch Clemons who will be attending MSMS in the fall of 2025. She prefers the MUW proposal for many reasons, including the cost difference and practicality.

“In an ideal world, I believe that [MSMS] should stay where it is at the W and they should upgrade facilities because they have a lot of problems there that have been problems for a long time and have not been addressed,” Clemons said.

Clemons said that many parents are concerned about MSMS moving to Starkville because they don’t want their children to be so close to MSU’s campus. She noted that she was not worried about that and trusted MSMS administrators to keep the school and the students separate from the college campus. She is, however, concerned about the partnership with Starkville High.

“My issue is any integration with a public high school,” Clemons said. “That is a horrific idea and I think that that would harm MSMS more than anything else.”

Dawn Barham has been teaching music at MSMS for 32 years and said she is also concerned with how the partnership between MSMS and Starkville High would affect the culture of the school.⁴

“We don’t want to become the gifted program for the Starkville-Oktibbeha School District which is what would happen regardless of what anybody says,” Barham said.

She noted that the application process to attend MSMS is rigorous for a reason and that it is a privilege to attend and take classes there. Allowing Starkville High students to take advanced courses without having to undergo the application process would undermine the purpose of MSMS. She also said that wherever MSMS ends up must be pedestrian-friendly. Students should be able to access a store, church, gym and library on foot.

Both Clemons and Barham mentioned concerns that the push to move MSMS to MSU is political and does not take the students’ best interests into consideration. Barham said that not inviting longtime MSMS faculty like herself to give input on the decision was an insult.

“It tells me that there’s another motive here,” Barham said. “If you’re not going to invite me to the table and ask me after 32 years what I see then all you’re saying to me is that there’s another agenda here.”

Email me at ngs83@msstate.edu with any questions