Ellington

"When you're trying to survive and make payroll, you really don't worry about textbooks."

—Richton School District Superintendent Noal Cochran in an interview with The Hechinger Report on trying to run his district's public schools with a chronic shortage of funds."

Why it stinks: No schools should have to make the choices that Cochran and other superintendents in Mississippi are making due to the state's continual funding shortfall for public schools.

"When (Cochran) had an open teaching position in this quiet town, he looked for applicants at the bottom of the salary ladder—those with as little experience as possible," states the Aug. 25 Hechinger story, titled "Back to school, but without books and basics in Mississippi."

"When he needed a new football coach, he wanted a rookie 'straight out of college' who would accept a smaller stipend.

And when he needed new textbooks, he chose history over physics or chemistry—subjects less likely to need updating."

Based on an analysis from The Parents' Campaign, a nonprofit advocacy group that supports public schools, the state has shorted funding for Cochran's district by $5 million since 2011, the story continues. Richton public schools serve about 700 students.

In all, legislators have shortchanged the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the formula used to ensure poorer school districts get at least sufficient funds to provide their students a decent education, by more than $1 billion over the past four years alone.