Mississippi has committed to major increases in teacher pay, and also faces the risk of unbudgeted Medicaid growth. These commitments might be hard to meet in the event of an economic downturn. C Mississippi's transportation department got caught in a money crunch last year. You'd think that would be a good thing, but it left little funding for other necessary construction. This hasn't been the only problem with the highway project.
Maintenance is Mississippi's stumbling block on the facilities side.
What's more, the state lacks a plan for funding major renovations as well as systems for tracking maintenance and inventory. On the positive side, Mississippi's capital planning process for facilities is becoming more credible. In the past, money for facilities maintenance has tended to go to the agencies with the best lobbyists, not the ones with the greatest need. Now the legislature and the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property have teamed up to assess agency needs and project priorities. Over the course of the past few years, Mississippi has taken several steps to provide flexibility in its hiring process.