History of Lauderdale County School District | Page 3

I.
Mississippi’s Constitution of 1868, drafted by a biracial convention, was the first
legislation to provide for free public education for all children. The constitution established a
“uniform system of free public schools, by taxation or otherwise, for all children between the
ages of five and twenty-one years.
Legislation was passed in 1870 that created school districts under the supervision of an
elected State Superintendent of Education and appointed country superintendents, as well. Areas
of a population with at least 5000 were permitted to establish separate school districts and extend
the school term to seven months.
The Constitution provided the following features in its legislation to establish a public
education system: 1. Administration: the state superintendent of public education must be elected
to provide “general supervision of the commons schools and the educations interests of the
State.” A State Board of Education shall also be made up of the State Superintendent, the
Attorney General and the Secretary of State. 2. School Term: The school year should also be at
least four months. Any county that does not abide by the guidelines presented in the legislation
should forgo its share of school funding and taxes. 3. Funding: The common schools were
funded from a combination of revenue earned from the sixteenth sections lands, and an excise
tax on alcohol, military exemption fees, and public and private donations specifically designed
for public education. Such monies were invested in the United State bonds and the interest
collected was allotted to support school systems. A poll tax was also levied to aid in funding
education.