Supreme Court refuses to reconsider Chevron/school tax case

by Associated Press

Published: July 20,2012

Tags: bench, case, court, education, elementary education, elementary school, energy, fuel, high school, judge, judicial, judiciary, junior high school, justice, lawsuit, natural gas, Oil, petroleum, public school, school, secondary education, tax

JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court yesterday declined to reconsider a ruling that a 2007 state law was unconstitutional in requiring the Pascagoula schools to share some tax dollars generated from Chevron facilities with other districts.

The April ruling overturned a decision by a Jackson County judge who upheld the law. The law required property taxes generated from expansions at Chevron’s Pascagoula refinery and liquefied natural gas facilities to be shared among the Pascagoula, Moss Point, Ocean Springs and Jackson County districts.

Jackson County and the three losing school districts asked the court to reconsider.

The Supreme Court found the constitution “clearly states that a school district may tax to fund ‘its schools,’ leaving no room for an interpretation allowing the Legislature to mandate that the funds be distributed elsewhere.”