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Christopher Boose awoke to see a sign for the paraplegic unit at the hospital where he had arrived five hours earlier, shackled and drifting in and out of consciousness. 

“Cut it off,” he remembered the doctors shouting shortly after they had wheeled him into an operating room. “Cut it off so we don’t lose him.”    

Then everything went dark. When he came to, he tried to turn over.

“My right arm wasn’t there,” he said.

He started crying, and a nurse came over to reassure him: He had died on the operating table before doctors revived him. He was lucky to be alive. But they had to amputate his arm to stop the spread of sepsis.

The infection stemmed from a broken bone after Boose, then 38, fell off his bunk at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility onto his arm. Left untreated for a week, the sepsis spread.

A one-year sentence for a Drug Court infraction became a lifetime sentence as an amputee, the Newton County man alleges in a lawsuit filed in federal court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

The lawsuit targets VitalCore Health Strategies, a private company contracted to provide health care in Mississippi’s prisons. Systemic neglect gave way to “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibited by the Constitution, the lawsuit contends.

READ THE SERIES: Behind Bars, Beyond Care: A Mississippi Today investigation into suffering, secrecy and the business of prison health care

VitalCore did not respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit or the episode that led to Boose losing an arm.    

Boose, now 40, filed his lawsuit in June and reached out to Mississippi Today after it began publishing its Behind Bars, Beyond Care series documenting alleged denial of health care in Mississippi prisons. He and his attorneys say his story is a case study of how routine injuries in prison escalate into permanent harm.

Additionally, his lawyers’ arguments aim to test a constitutional boundary: At what point under the Eighth Amendment does the delay of medical care in prison amount to cruel and unusual punishment?

‘They took my arm off’

In February of 2023, Boose, a Mississippi State University graduate and former Wells Fargo employee, was arrested for violating the terms of a Drug Court program. He was sentenced in Newton County Circuit Court to complete alcohol and drug treatment in prison, a sentence designed to be a one-year rehabilitative term, his attorney said.

He entered the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, a sprawling prison on 171 acres in Rankin County. The prison has 18 housing units, and with a capacity of about 4,000, it holds the largest number of people of any state prison.

But when Boose arrived for his sentence, it took months before he received any of the drug treatment mandated by the judge, he said in an interview. 

In phone calls from prison, Boose alerted his mother, Cynthia Boose, to the delay. She called the prison and eventually discovered the Mississippi Department of Corrections was short on drug counselors, she said in an interview. 

“I called, and they said it was because of staffing,” Cynthia said. “OK, so my son is sitting there, waiting for a treatment or waiting for a class, and y’all can’t find nobody to do it?” 

Staffing shortages have been a persistent problem for both MDOC and VitalCore. In April, the department withheld $2 million in state money for VitalCore for having inadequate staff according to its contract, Mississippi Today reported. 

An MDOC spokesperson said the department would not comment on pending litigation and did not respond to a question about the agency’s alleged shortage of drug counselors.

After about four-and-a-half months, Boose said, he began receiving drug counseling. But his treatment was interrupted by the episode that would irrevocably change his life. 

On Dec. 15, 2023, Boose took a hot shower and returned to his cot in “quickbed” — a unit where inmates sleep on bunk beds in dormitory-style housing. While climbing up to his bed, he slipped and fell onto the floor, his side bearing the brunt of the impact. The pain was immediate and radiated from his elbow to his collarbone.

He asked a guard to escort him to the prison infirmary. 

“The guard told me to go sit my ass back down,” Boose said. 

Boose said he had no recourse.

That’s a problem born from the absence of an organized process for requesting medical attention, said Rep. Becky Currie, the Republican chairwoman of the House Corrections Committee. Currie has traveled to prisons around the state and spoken with inmates about issues they’ve faced when trying to get medical care.

She said inmates were often not provided any formal process for scheduling medical appointments. Some prisons also didn’t provide access to medical professionals overnight.

At a legislative budget hearing in September, Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain said Central Mississippi Correctional Facility has sent some prison nurses directly into inmate dormitories because requests for medical visits have gone unanswered in the past.

“Inmates would say they signed up for a sick call, and nobody ever sees them,” Cain said. “But we have to track the sick call sign-up to be sure that it’s actually seen and utilized, and they actually see the doctor.”

Over the next week after his fall, Boose’s arm started to swell. He said he repeatedly asked for help, to no avail. As the swelling worsened, he periodically lost consciousness, prompting other inmates to ask guards for help on his behalf. 

The conditions inside Mississippi’s prisons have at times forced inmates to advocate for each other, according to an ex-corrections official who spoke to Mississippi Today. She once encountered inmates carrying a man whose legs appeared to be rotting across the prison, trying to find help for him. 

About seven days after his fall, Boose was taken to the infirmary, where nurses X-rayed his arm and sent him back to his cell with a sling. The swelling continued, and Boose believes he would have died had it not been for a routine sweep by an officer with a dog, searching for drugs.

The officer saw the state of Boose’s arm and urged prison officials to take him to the hospital. 

Editor’s note: The photo below, which can be seen by sliding the button, is graphic and may not be suitable for some readers. It shows the state of Christopher Boose’s arm before amputation in December of 2023.

There, doctors found “massive tissue and muscle damage from the bacterial infection” caused by the delay in treating Boose’s broken arm, his attorneys wrote in the complaint. His arm was amputated at the shoulder.

After nearly dying in emergency surgery and losing an arm, Boose called his mother and told her what happened. It was Christmas Eve. 

“I’ll never forget it. Me and my sister had just finished cooking,” she said. “He called and said, ‘Hey, Ma. Merry Christmas Eve.’ I said, ‘Oh, son, so glad to hear your voice, but I was worried. He said, ‘Well, I got one arm. They took my arm off.’”

Boose remained in the hospital for several days and was then granted early release from custody on Jan. 12, 2024.

Boose and his attorneys argue that the permanent disability he now suffers is the direct result of postponed medical care. Their lawsuit argues the postponement of such care qualifies as “cruel and unusual punishment.”

What is ‘deliberate indifference’?

In a damning 2024 report, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Mississippi of violating the constitutional rights of those held in four prisons, including Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. 

The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishment. It should be read to prohibit “prison officials from being deliberately indifferent to conditions of confinement that pose an excessive risk to inmate health or safety,” the DOJ report said.

According to the report, Cain, the state corrections commissioner, has acknowledged that Mississippi is “not where it need[s] to be in terms of running a safe prison system.”

Boose’s attorneys – Warren Martin and Robert Thompson – quoted that line in their complaint. Its legal argument is rooted in the concept of “deliberate indifference,” the legal standard needed to prove cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. 

“The delay of medical care,” the complaint said, “constituted an Eighth Amendment violation … manifesting deliberate indifference” to Boose’s medical needs.

VitalCore, the recipient of hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars through its contract with the Corrections Department, “failed to adopt a strategy to protect the safety, health and lives of inmates in MDOC custody,” the complaint said. This, the complaint argues, reflects deliberate indifference. 

In its 2024 report, the Justice Department said deliberate indifference requires the proof that prison officials were actually aware of “an excessive risk to inmate health or safety” and disregarded that risk.

If Boose’s legal argument succeeds, it would be an outlier, according to legal data

In 2024, Business Insider examined nearly 1,500 cases in federal appellate courts that involved Eighth Amendment claims. The news outlet found that only 1% of prisoner claims succeed, with almost half failing to meet the strict deliberate-indifference standard. 

Boose’s complaint seeks $5 million in damages for the Newton County man, who has since returned to live with his mother. She still helps him tie his shoes and put on a belt. He receives disability benefits in lieu of steady employment. He suffers from “phantom limb,” the sensation that an amputated limb is still attached.

The condition sometimes causes him to lose his balance and fall, transporting his mind back to the rickety bunk at CMCF from which he fell nearly two years ago. 

Unlike that December night, his mother is often nearby to help when he falls. But inside prison, “Anything could happen,” Boose said. 

“Somebody could die at any moment. It’s just like that, it’s the way it is.”

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As the days grow shorter and autumn settles in, it’s a good time to shine a light on a topic that can feel mysterious: your credit score. For many, credit can feel confusing or even intimidating, but understanding how it works and why it matters can be an important step toward strengthening your financial health journey.

How Your Credit Score Impacts Your Financial Journey

Your credit score is a three-digit number used by lenders, landlords, insurance companies, mobile phone providers, and financial institutions to assess your reliability. A higher score can help you qualify for lower interest rates and better loan terms, saving you money in interest and making it easier to achieve major financial goals such as buying a home or car.

Establishing good credit means building a record of responsible usage. Using your credit card and paying your bill on time demonstrates financial responsibility to lenders. On the other hand, missing payment deadlines or not meeting the minimum amount due can negatively impact your score.

Understanding the Factors Behind Your Credit Score

Credit scores typically range from 300 to 850. The better your score, the more options you may have with lenders. Here’s what usually influences your score:

• Payment History: Consistently paying bills on time has a positive impact, while late or missed payments can lower your score.
• Credit Utilization: Using a smaller portion of your total available credit is better for your score; high balances relative to your total credit limits can be a negative factor.
• Total Debt: Lower overall debt is viewed more favorably, while carrying high debt can reduce your score.
• Types of Credit Accounts: Having a mix of credit accounts, such as credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages, can strengthen your score.
• Length of Credit History: A longer track record of responsible credit use contributes positively to your score.
• Recent Credit Applications: Applying for new credit  can temporarily lower your score.
• Credit Inquiries. Soft inquiries, like checking your own credit or receiving pre-approved offers, don’t affect your score. Hard inquiries, such as applying for a loan or credit card, may lower your score slightly, but the impact fades over time and drops off your report after two years.

If your credit score is on the lower end, don’t worry—there are steps you can take to help improve it.

Credit Smart Habits for

• Pay your bills on time. Payment history is an important factor when it comes to calculating your credit score. If you struggle with meeting payment deadlines, consider setting reminders or enrolling in autopay.
• Pay down your debt. Your credit utilization—meaning the size of your card balance—is the second biggest factor in most credit scoring models. Create a plan to pay down high-interest debt first.
• Monitor your credit with Chase Credit Journey®. Regularly checking your credit report can help you spot areas of improvement and fix errors. Chase Credit Journey is a free tool that lets you monitor your score without impacting it, and provides alerts if your personal information is exposed in a data breach. It’s free for everyone, no Chase account required.

Turning Credit Concerns into Financial Wins

Building credit doesn’t have to be spooky and mysterious. With patience and smart financial habits, you can improve your score and unlock financial opportunities. This fall, take steps to understand and strengthen your credit.

More protections are provided to the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion than to the White House based on events unfolding in the nation’s capital.

While President Donald Trump is demolishing the East Wing of the White House and no one is stopping him, there is a state law that prevents Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves from acting on his own to make major changes to the Governor’s Mansion. And to be clear, Gov. Reeves is not planning any major renovations to Mississippi’s version of the White House, though he does attempt to emulate President Trump.

This past week work began to remove, according to news reports, the entire East Wing of the White House – arguably the nation’s most recognizable building – to prepare for the construction of President Trump’s one big beautiful ballroom.

Who knew in America one person could tear down a portion of what we fondly called the people’s house and construct a massive structure that based on drawings will dwarf the original building and overwhelm the iconic White House grounds? For comparison, the original White House, situated on 18 acres, is 55,000 square feet while it is anticipated the ballroom will be 90,000 square feet.

Based on state law, one person cannot undertake similar activities to public buildings in Mississippi.

The guidelines established by the long-standing Antiquities Law of Mississippi govern work of many historic buildings in the state, including the Governor’s Mansion and the Capitol.

Under the law, any action involving “excavation, property transfer, excavation or ground disturbing activities of any nature, demolition or significant alteration” of a building or property designated as a Mississippi Landmark must be approved by the Department of Archives and History Board of Trustees. Mississippi landmarks could be state or local public buildings, including those found at education entities.

Granted, nearly every president makes changes to the White House. For instance, former President Barack Obama incorporated a basketball goal into the tennis court. And his wife, Michelle, had the nerve to add an organic vegetable garden.

Before Trump was inaugurated for his first term, conservative personality Ann Coulter posted on social media, “I respectfully suggest a new name for Michelle’s White House vegetable garden: ‘Putting green.’”

Trump already has made significant modifications to the White House, replacing one of its most legendary features – the Rose Garden – with a concrete patio. And he has incorporated enough gold features in the Oval Office to make envious Tony Montana, the drug-dealing kingpin in the movie “Scarface.”

Various groups, including the congressionally created National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Society of Architectural Historians, have urged a delay on the ballroom construction to gather more information and to allow input.

Who has been silent on the issue are congressional Republicans, including Mississippi U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith who previously served in the state Legislature where the Mississippi Antiquities Law was created. And Wicker was a vocal supporter of the designation of the Jackson home of civil rights leaders Medgar and Myrlie Evers as a national monument under the supervision of the National Park Service.

The National Capitol Planning Commission does have some authority over changes made to the White House. But Will Scharf, a Trump appointee and chair of the commission, said the president can do demolition at the White House on his own.

“Demolition and site preparation work can certainly occur, but if you’re talking about actually building anything, then, yeah, it should go through our approval process,” he said during an early September meeting, according to The Associated Press.

So, what does that mean? How much of the White House can the president demolish on his own? 

Scharf said there is nothing to worry about.

”Given the president’s history as a builder, and given the plans that we’ve seen publicly I think this will be a tremendous addition to the White House complex, a sorely needed addition,” he said.

Reports have said the ballroom will cost $250 million or more and private funds will be raised to pay for the structure.

Little else is known. If the funds are not raised, will Trump turn to Congress for taxpayer money to complete the project?

Or will he depend on Mexico to pay for it just as he said Mexico would pay for a border wall?

Incidentally, Trump is seeking money from American taxpayers to compensate himself for criminal investigations he has been subject to. He is asking for $230 million – almost enough to pay for one big beautiful ballroom.

In the South, there is only one thing that can rival college football itself: the party before kickoff.

Pinpointing the exact origins of tailgating is near impossible. Some trace it to Nov. 6, 1869, when Rutgers and New Jersey (later Princeton) played in the first college football game. Others credit Green Bay Packers fans, who folded down pickup truck tailgates for makeshift pregame seating during the team’s inaugural season in 1919.

Arguments over who has the best tailgating traditions are as old as the sport itself and the creativity is as varied as the fans themselves. From Bevo Boulevard (Texas) and the Tiger Walk (Clemson) to the Vol Navy (Tennessee) and the sailgating on boats outside Husky Stadium (Washington), the options are endless.

The tradition runs deep in the South, and few do it like Ole Miss and LSU.

It’s hours before kickoff. Ole Miss is hosting LSU in its biggest game of the season so far, and tens of thousands of fans gather at The Grove, a 10-acre plot in the center of campus surrounded by oak trees. The grassy area has transformed into a sea of red and blue tents decked out with chandeliers and elaborate spreads.

Anticipation builds for The Walk of Champions – one of the program’s longest-standing traditions where coaches and players are met with applause and “Hotty Toddy” cheers as they exit the buses and pass under the archway en route to the stadium.

Elizabeth Heiskell, a caterer from Oxford, is at the center of it all. She’s become a Grove regular since marrying into the fan base, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“It is a beautiful space right in the middle of campus with gorgeous trees that have been here forever,” Heiskell said. “There’s just really no place like it. It’s not like we’re, you know, dropping a tailgate in some parking lot. I mean, it is so green and so beautiful.”

Like most Grove goers, Heiskell is dressed for the occasion. She’s wearing a red and white blouse, gold jewelry and a fabulous pair of red sunglasses that tie the whole look together. This isn’t an outfit she just threw together; gameday getups are carefully curated.

“Of course everybody gets dressed up. I mean, we shop all year long for our game clothes,” she said. “When they say it’s a red game, honey, we’re all gonna wear red.”

The pregame buzz carries into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, where nearly 68,000 fans watch Ole Miss hold off LSU for a 24-19 victory.

Two weeks later, crawfish boils and Cajun spices replace the chandeliers and elegance of The Grove as the party moves 330 miles South to Baton Rouge.

Fresh off a bye week, LSU is hosting South Carolina in Death Valley, where home-field advantage is alive and well, thanks to a passionate fan base of their own.

Gameday preparation begins early for Wayne Breaux, a fisherman from New Iberia, Louisiana. He drives up to his condo near campus on Thursday night, reserves his spot on Friday and begins the setup early Saturday. After 35 years, his tailgate has become quite the attraction. Breaux regularly welcomes football, basketball and softball coaches and recruits.

“Tailgating is an event in itself. A lot of people, even if they don’t have tickets to the game, they’ll come out and enjoy the atmosphere, the friendship and the camaraderie,” Breaux said. “I love the football game itself, but tailgating is a very close second.”

Like every good tailgate, Breaux’s setup centers around the menu. His spread features speckled trout, red fish, steak tips, pork loin, and of course, jambalaya and boudin.

“We got one rule,” Breaux said. “If you leave here thirsty or hungry, it’s your fault. It’s not mine.”

Mississippi’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is being paused because of the federal government shutdown, the Mississippi Department of Human Services said Friday. 

“No new SNAP benefits will be issued for November unless federal guidance changes,” the department said in a press release. 

This move comes more than three weeks into the federal shutdown, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would not tap into its $6 billion contingency fund to cover food assistance next month.

Nearly 400,000 Mississippians receive food assistance through SNAP, and the vast majority are families with children or elderly people. That is about 13% of the population, slightly higher than the 12% nationwide who use SNAP to help buy groceries.

The Associated Press reported that officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia pledged Thursday to keep food aid flowing to recipients in their states, even if the federal program is stalled next month because of the government shutdown.

The Mississippi Department of Human Services encourages members to use up their current benefits before the end of October to buy shelf-stable foods, such as canned goods. It’s not clear whether SNAP clients will be able to use pre-existing benefits beyond Oct. 31, the department said. 

The department will continue to process new applications. Current enrollees are also reminded to fulfill all requirements to remain eligible. 

New work requirements for SNAP are slated to fall into place next month, as well, as a result of a federal budget law that President Donald Trump signed during the summer. Work requirements already exist, but the law increases the upper age limit on those from 54 to 65 and extends the requirement to those previously exempt: veterans, those facing homelessness, and young people aging out of foster care. There is still a caregiver exemption, but parents must have children younger than  14 – down from 18. 

A list of Mississippi food pantries by county can be found on the website of Delta Health Alliance, a nonprofit group that works to improve health outcomes. 

CLEVELAND – An independent autopsy has yet to be released for Demartravion “Trey” Reed, the student who was found dead on the Delta State University campus in September, and speculation continues to swirl on campus and online.  

The initial examination by the Bolivar County coroner and the autopsy completed by the Mississippi medical examiner’s office concluded the death of the 21-year-old Black man was a suicide, and no foul play occurred.

The independent autopsy, conducted later, was paid for by civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback.

Reed’s body was found hanging in a tree. Some members of his family and activists say they believe he was lynched, and they point to Mississippi’s racist history of lynchings of Black people.

Jeremy Marquell Bridges, an activist from Alabama, said he’s been in recent contact with Reed’s mother, Sophia, and Ben Crump, a nationally prominent attorney representing Reed’s family.

Bridges said this week that Crump needed more time to complete a reenactment as part of the independent investigation. Crump did not specify when that would be complete.

Bridges said the independent investigation revealed injuries sustained from a recent attack by white male students, but he did not provide any proof to Mississippi Today as of Friday.

Delta State University confirmed that Reed had listed his grandmother, Sharon Candy Tillman, as his emergency contact. Tillman said she is waiting to see what the independent autopsy says about claims that Bridges and others are making. 

In an interview with The Chicago Crusader, Bridges said preliminary findings from the independent autopsy alleged that Reed lacked significant bruising around the neck consistent with a suicide by hanging. Bridges also claimed to Mississippi Today that the state crime lab was late supplying Reed’s organs and X-ray imagery to Nebraska pathologist Dr. Matthias Okoye, who the Reed family retained to conduct the independent autopsy.

On Oct. 16, Mississippi Today reached out to Bridges to ask for proof of these claims. Bridges had also claimed that Reed had defended a Black female student who was harassed by white students, and that the buckle was missing from the belt that hung him.

Bridges was unable to provide proof, but he and a member of the Reed family said they were expecting the independent autopsy last week.

Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin did not address Bridges’ claims that Reed’s organs were delivered late to Okyoe, but confirmed the funeral home had them as of Oct. 17, she wrote in an email to Mississippi Today.

Reed’s funeral was held at Abundant Life Assembly church in his hometown of Grenada on Sept. 27. 

Reed’s mother joined members of the New Black Panthers Party at a protest Oct. 18 on the Delta State campus in Cleveland. They alleged that his death was the result of a lynching. They repeated claims that Reed suffered “blunt force trauma to the back of the head,” which was not found in the coroner’s examination or the autopsy completed by the Mississippi medical examiner’s office.

Rumors have swirled online in the weeks since Reed’s death with videos and posts on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram echoing the allegation that he was beaten before his hanging. Some garnered more than 130,000 likes.

One TikTok user with nearly 30,000 followers removed his September video echoing many of the allegations surrounding Reed’s case. He attributed his decision to a Facebook post by Tillman, Reed’s grandmother. She clarified that the second autopsy was not yet released – and the initial findings have not yet been substantiated.

“I don’t usually respond to social media, but I’m tired,” Tillman wrote in an Oct. 3 Facebook post.

Security footage from campus is still with law enforcement agencies and can’t be shared due to the active nature of the investigation, according to the university.

The medical examiner’s office received the results of the toxicology report on Sept. 26. Those results have been given to the family, but the Department of Public Safety has not publicly released them.

Editor’s note: This essay is part of Mississippi Today Ideas, a platform for thoughtful Mississippians to share fact-based ideas about our state’s past, present and future. You can read more about the section here.

Few topics in education stir as much passion as school choice.

On the surface, the idea sounds simple and appealing: Give families state dollars and let them decide where to send their children to school. But beneath that slogan are serious consequences for Mississippi’s children, communities and future—consequences we cannot afford to ignore.

As Mississippi’s public education system experiences its most impressive gains in decades, we must ask an important question: Why now? Why introduce a policy that would destabilize a system that is clearly working?

Over the past decade, Mississippi has seen remarkable growth, with 87% of districts now earning a C or higher, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.

Notably, eight of the 19 districts rated D, F or not rated at all are charter schools. Our state’s national ranking for K–12 achievement has climbed from 50th to 16th, and Mississippi now leads the nation in early literacy gains and fourth-grade reading growth. These results were not achieved through privatization or vouchers. They were  achieved through focus, consistency and intentionality by teachers and administrators across our state.

When a system is continuously improving, research is clear—now is not the time to blow it up. It is the time to double down on what works.

The path forward for Mississippi lies in refining and strengthening our current educational system, not  abandoning it for one that lacks accountability or proven results. 

Accountability should apply to everyone  

Public schools in Mississippi operate under one of the most transparent and rigorous accountability systems in the nation. Every school and district receives an annual letter grade — A through F — based on clear, publicly reported indicators such as student  achievement, academic growth, graduation rates and college and career readiness.

Those results are not hidden in a report or spreadsheet. They are published statewide each year, tied directly to state and federal funding decisions and used to guide support and improvement efforts.

When schools fall short, the state steps in. The Mississippi Department of Education provides targeted assistance, professional development and intervention strategies to help struggling schools improve.

Local school boards are required to discuss results in open meetings, and the public has full access to performance data by school, grade and subgroup. In short, the public knows exactly how their schools are performing and can hold leaders — like me — accountable for results.

Private schools receiving taxpayer-funded vouchers, however, face none of these same expectations. They are not required to administer state assessments aligned with Mississippi’s academic standards, report graduation rates or publish any data showing whether students are actually learning. They are not required to have certified teachers.

There are no annual report cards, no performance frameworks and no transparency measures that allow parents or taxpayers to see results.

That lack of oversight raises a serious question. If public money is funding private education, how are families — or lawmakers — supposed to know whether “school choice” is actually working? Without data, there is no way to compare outcomes or determine whether students receiving vouchers are gaining ground, standing still or falling behind.

If public dollars are going to private institutions, the public deserves to know what they’re getting in return. Accountability should not stop at the schoolhouse door simply because the sign out front doesn’t say “public.”

Transparency is not a punishment. It’s a promise. It’s the reason Mississippi’s public education system has achieved record gains in the last decade.

We turned years of stagnation into a story of improvement precisely because we were willing to measure results, confront reality and act on what the data showed. If accountability has helped strengthen our public schools, shouldn’t it be expected of any school that receives public funds? 

The cost of disruption  

Universal school choice would drain critical resources from public schools – the very institutions that anchor our communities.

When public dollars follow students out the door, the schools left behind still carry the same responsibilities: Teaching every child who walks through their doors, keeping class sizes manageable and providing programs in the arts, athletics and career-technical education. What disappears are the resources to sustain that work.

Unlike public schools, private schools that receive vouchers are not required to serve all children. They can – and often do – set admissions criteria that exclude students with disabilities, English language learners or those with behavioral or academic challenges.

Private schools may decline to provide transportation, limit access for low-income families or charge additional fees beyond the voucher amount. That’s not freedom or fairness; that’s selective access.

Public schools, by contrast, open their doors to every child, every day. They are the great equalizer – places where opportunity is not limited by income, background or ability. Public schools don’t get to choose their students. They simply choose to serve  them all.

In every community, the public school is more than a building. It’s a gathering place, a unifying symbol and a promise that every child deserves a fair start. To weaken that promise by diverting funds to institutions that operate without the same responsibility or transparency is to risk unraveling one of the most essential threads in the fabric of our state. 

A better path forward 

At its core, education is a public good, not a consumer good. It exists not to serve individual preference but to ensure the collective well-being of our communities and the strength of our democracy.

Public education thrives on shared responsibility,  transparency and inclusion – values that cannot be reduced to marketplace competition or transactional choice. 

When we begin to treat education as a commodity to be bought and sold, we risk eroding the foundation of equal opportunity and civic unity that has anchored this nation for more than a century. Public schools are where our children learn not only  academics, but empathy, cooperation and the responsibilities of citizenship. 

Mississippi’s recent success story proves what’s possible when we invest in what works — early literacy, teacher development, career pathways and continuous  improvement.

Rather than expanding programs that siphon resources away from public schools, we should continue building on the practices that have moved Mississippi from the bottom of national rankings to one of the most improved states in the country.

The future of Mississippi’s children depends on the decisions we make today. If we want every child, in every community, to have a fair shot at success, we must protect and strengthen our public schools. Let’s continue to refine what’s working instead of dismantling a system that is finally moving in the right direction. 

Education is not a marketplace — it’s a promise. And that promise belongs to every child in Mississippi.

Bio:  Bradley Roberson has served as the superintendent of the Oxford School District since 2021. Before then, he served in the district in various capacities, including teacher, coach and principal. Roberson was a finalist for the National Superintendent of the Year honor. 

Greenwood Leflore Hospital, plagued by financial hardship for years, saw a bright spot this spring when it was selected for a new federal payment status. But a dispute with Mississippi Medicaid could jeopardize the Greenwood public hospital’s ability to keep services open if a resolution is not reached, its leader says. 

“Access to services will be reduced for residents of the central Delta region,” Interim CEO Gary Marchand told Mississippi Today. He said no decisions about service changes have been made yet. 

The Mississippi Division of Medicaid informed the hospital in June it is recouping $5.5 million overpaid last year to Greenwood Leflore Hospital in state-directed payments, Marchand said. These amounts beef up low Medicaid reimbursements. The payments were high because they were calculated using old data, which did not take into account the hospital shuttering its labor and delivery and intensive care units in 2022. 

The amount is not insignificant. The hospital’s total operating expenses were $74.7 million in the 2023 fiscal year, according to an audit performed that year. 

Mississippi Medicaid has withheld $2 million so far this year and will continue recovering payments at a rate of $900,000 a quarter beginning in December, Marchand wrote in an Oct. 20 memo sent to hospital employees and board members. 

“Supplemental payments withheld to date along with the scheduled quarterly Recoupments will place a significant strain on hospital operations,” Marchand warned. 

Additionally, the hospital’s Medicaid tax assessments should have been lower to reflect the reduced service levels, which could have offset about half of the total recoupment, he added.

Greenwood Leflore Hospital proposed several options for repayment to the Division of Medicaid that would buy it time to first begin receiving higher payments for Medicare patients, said the memo. The anticipated larger payments are the result of the hospital’s acceptance to the federal Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program, which allows selected hospitals to be reimbursed based on their actual costs for inpatient care instead of a fixed amount. The higher payments are expected to begin by the end of the year and retroactively reimburse services provided since May 1. 

Next month, the hospital will begin providing skilled nursing care for people recovering after hospital stays, but will not begin receiving the higher payments for these services until late 2026. 

The Division of Medicaid advised the hospital in September that it did not agree with the solutions proposed by the hospital, Marchand said in the memo. On Oct. 9, the hospital appealed the decision and requested an administrative hearing on the matter, which has not yet been scheduled. 

The Division of Medicaid did not respond to a request for comment. 

Greenwood Leflore is one of 30 hospitals overpaid a total of $48 million during the state’s 2024 fiscal year, Marchand said.

Greenwood Mayor Kendrick Cox said he has been working with state and federal lawmakers to resolve the dispute. 

“We desperately need our hospital,” he said. “… There’s a lot of people in our community that aren’t financially able to transport themselves or their relatives to other towns or states for health care services.”  

The state-directed payments helped to stabilize Greenwood Leflore’s finances after it was forced to close valued services. But now, the closure of those services could put others at risk, and the new payment model hasn’t yet provided the relief it’s expected to. 

This is just one piece of what Brock Slabach, chief operations officer of the National Rural Health Association, called the “brutal mix of issues” that rural hospitals, which often have low patient volumes and high overhead costs, face when trying to break even.

“These are different environments than some of our larger, urban facilities,” he said.  

Rural hospitals across the U.S. are struggling. Over half of Mississippi’s rural hospitals are at risk of closure or have experienced losses on services, according to a recent report from the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform.  

Greenwood Leflore Hospital serves approximately 300,000 patients in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the state with limited access to medical care, according to its website. The 35-bed hospital operates a physician-staffed emergency room and offers general, vascular and outpatient orthopedic surgery, cancer care and a full suite of diagnostic services. 

The hospital has faced a litany of financial challenges over the past several years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, the hospital was losing $7 million to 9 million a year, Marchand previously told Mississippi Today.

The pandemic only worsened the hospital’s precarious financial condition. To keep its doors open, the hospital shut down departments and clinics, went up for lease multiple times, drew down millions of dollars in credit, applied for grants from the state Legislature, and pursued a more lucrative hospital designation. In 2023, the hospital suspended the use of 173 beds to control costs, according to an audit. 

Marchand, who will step down at the end of the year, repeatedly warned local leaders and state lawmakers that the hospital was on the verge of closure. 

To become more financially secure, the facility vied in 2023 to be designated a critical access hospital. These facilities are reimbursed by Medicare at a rate of 101%, theoretically allowing for a 1% profit. But its initial application was denied because critical access hospitals must be located 35 miles from the nearest hospital, and South Sunflower County Hospital in Indianola is closer, at 28 miles away. 

Greenwood Leflore was one of three hospitals in the state chosen for the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program in April. 

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson called the designation a “meaningful victory.”

“For far too long, rural hospitals have operated at a disadvantage, being underfunded, understaffed, and overburdened,” he said in a statement. “This program is a step toward leveling the playing field.” 

The program’s payment model can help stabilize rural hospitals, but it only increases reimbursements for inpatient care — even though many hospitals are seeing higher outpatient volumes, said Slabach.

And the reimbursement challenges rural hospitals face are worsened by workforce shortages, since rural hospitals often have to offer higher pay to attract providers — money they don’t have due to low reimbursement rates.

“It’s a vicious circle,” Slabach said. 

State-directed payments like those recouped from Greenwood Leflore Hospital, which were championed by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, have been a vital source of cash for Mississippi’s struggling rural hospitals, especially in a state that has gone a decade without expanding Medicaid.

But those payments are set to be reduced over time beginning in 2028 as a result of federal cuts to Medicaid included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed by President Donald Trump in July. 

Mississippi is expected to receive at least $500 million over the next five years as a part of a major federal investment meant to offset the cuts’ impact on funding for rural health care. States must submit applications for the funding to the federal government by Nov. 5. 

The funding aims to strengthen access to health care by investing in lasting improvements to preventive medicine, collaboration between health care facilities, workforce development and innovations in care and technology.

“It could well be a lifeline for a lot of hospitals that are struggling,” said Harold Miller, the director of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.

But the money is a one-time, lump sum, and there is no telling how states will choose to spend it or if it will go to struggling rural hospitals, he said. 

Reeves is responsible for the state’s one-time application for the funding, which is due in less than two weeks.

The latest meeting of the House committee studying school choice opened with a bold statement: Private schools could be convinced to support “school choice” and take public dollars — as long as there are no strings attached. 

The hours-long hearing Thursday marked the third meeting for a group of representatives tasked with studying school choice. This refers to a number of policies that provide families more options, in and outside of the public schools system, including using public tax dollars for private schools. State legislative leaders, including House Speaker Jason White, have said expanding school choice will be a top issue in the coming legislative session.

The first speaker, Barrett Donahoe, executive director of the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools, said repeatedly at the meeting that private schools would not make their students take state assessments, nor would they change their faith-based curriculum or their ability to turn some students away, even if the schools were to take state money through school-choice programs. 

It’s a popular argument among school-choice opponents — that voucher programs would allow private schools to accept tax dollars without being held to the same standards as public schools. But Donahoe did little to rebut it, instead doubling down on his stance.  

When Rep. Greg Holloway, a Democrat from Hazlehurst, questioned his logic, Donahoe replied, “I don’t think we have to compromise anything. I think our schools do a good job.” 

READ MORE: Lawmakers want to expand ‘school choice’ in Mississippi. Here’s what it looks like in neighboring states

Many lawmakers were curious about accountability standards for private schools. Donahoe said that, mostly, private schools are held accountable by parents who pay tuition, typically between $7,200 and $7,500 a year. 

Other representatives were less skeptical about private-school accountability.

“I don’t want to force our Christian schools to teach secular curriculum,” said Rep. Jansen Owen, a Republican from Poplarville and co-chair of the select committee, after the meeting. ”I don’t want the state’s involvement to infringe on that in any way.”

Owen and Donahoe suggested that private schools serve many low-income students, but data says otherwise. In 2016, just 8% of private school students lived in poor households, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. 

Donahoe predicted that if school choice laws are passed, private schools wouldn’t get an influx of students, calling it a “false narrative” perpetuated by opponents of the choice policies.

It’s true that in other states, a majority of school-choice vouchers went to children who were already enrolled in private school, and school-choice programs don’t necessarily make private schools more accessible for low-income students or students with disabilities. 

Next, officials from the Mississippi High School Athletics and Activities Association told lawmakers that expanded school-choice policies would “completely upset” the competitive balance of high school sports and activities. 

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to have movement based on academic needs, but I promise that the vast majority of our movement will be because of athletics,” said Chad Harrison, president of the association. 

He encouraged lawmakers to consider allowing MHSAA to maintain its eligibility rules for students. That means if a student living in one district transfers into another district, they wouldn’t immediately be eligible to play sports. 

Owen said the association’s concerns were addressed in a bill that failed last session, and they’d likely be able to find a compromise this year. 

Mary Werner, a Mississippi Board of Education member, and Sam Duell from yes. every kid., a pro-school choice advocacy organization funded by the Koch brothers, concluded the meeting. 

Werner, who said she wasn’t speaking to the committee on behalf of the board, suggested establishing a lottery would be the most equitable school-choice solution. 

Duell presented a number of polls and surveys that showed parent satisfaction is higher when they get to make choices about their child’s education.

House Education Chairman Rob Roberson, a Republican from Starkville, said the select committee on school choice would likely meet again once or twice before the legislative session begins in January.

Jackson State University students, faculty, staff and alumni have the opportunity to sound off on qualities and qualifications they want to see in their next university president. 

The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board announced this week that trustees and AGB Search, an executive search firm IHL hired to assist with the presidential process, will hold listening sessions Monday and Tuesday at the Jackson State Student Center. 

The campus sessions are happening after the board announced it would start naming constituent members to serve on an advisory group to provide insight and recommendations to trustees during the search process. It is an action the board said it hasn’t taken in years. 

IHL said it has also released a new survey link to collect community input to develop the job profile for university president. The responses will go directly to AGB Search. Previous comments made through IHL’s portal will also be shared with the firm. The surveys will close on Tuesday at 10:59 p.m. CST. 

Schedule for listening sessions: 

• Staff – 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Faculty – 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. 
• Students – 11 a.m .and 3 p.m.
• Alumni – 4 p.m.

The campus listening sessions will also be livestreamed on IHL’s website.