A state representative is urging members of the public and other lawmakers to sign an online petition urging the legislative leadership to seek more input from the public on a new education funding formula before bringing any bills to a vote.

Rep. Jeramey Anderson, D-Escatawpa, sent out a statement Wednesday urging people to sign the petition as a follow up to last week’s “Seat at the Table” rally at the State Capitol. Despite the hundreds in attendance at the rally, only three people have signed the online petition as of Wednesday afternoon.

“I urge my colleagues to join me in voting against any new education funding legislation that has not been properly vetted or presented in a series of public hearings,” Anderson said in his statement.

The legislative leadership has declined in recent weeks to reveal specific details of progress towards finalizing legislation rewriting the state’s public education funding formula.

“We should not change the education funding formula without taking into account the people who will be affected the most,” Anderson said.

He continued to say he would not support a new formula presented in a special session if “scrupulous vetting has not taken place.”

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Kate Royals is a Jackson native and returned to Mississippi Today as the lead education reporter after serving in the same capacity from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she was a reporter for the Clarion-Ledger covering education and state government. She won awards for her investigative work, including stories about the state’s campaign finance laws and prison system. She was a news producer at MassLive in Springfield, Mass., after graduating from Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communications with a master’s degree in communications.