UPDATE: The Mississippi Department of Public Safety cleared the Mississippi State Capitol building and the Mississippi Supreme Court building around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday after sweeping the buildings following a bomb threat early in the morning, according to officials with DPS and the Administrative Office of the Courts
Judges, legislators and Capitol staffers lined the sidewalks in downtown Jackson Thursday morning after the Mississippi Supreme Court received a bomb threat, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Safety said.
“Precautionary measures are being taken at the Mississippi State Capitol and Supreme Court buildings,” DPS spokesperson Bailey Martin said in a statement. “Standard emergency procedures are being followed.”
This is the second day in a row that a government building in the state has received a bomb threat. The Mississippi State Capitol, which is across High Street from the Supreme Court, received a bomb threat Wednesday. Law enforcement agencies swept the building and did not detect any explosive or suspicious material inside the building.
The Mississippi Legislature is in the middle of its 2024 legislative session, and most of Mississippi’s statewide officials are slated to be sworn into office at 2 p.m. today.
Jack Fredericks is investing in new teachers because he wants to help them stay in the classroom for the long haul.
He serves as the program coordinator for the new teacher mentorship program in the West Tallahatchie School District, something he worked with his superintendent to create after researching mentorship as a Teach Plus Mississippi policy fellow.
Jack Fredericks created a teacher mentorship program in the West Tallahatchie School District to support new teachers and keep them in the profession. Credit: Courtesy of Jack Fredericks
“It’s kind of a weird measurement to say, ‘Well the program is successful because the teachers haven’t quit,’ but a lot of new teachers do quit in the middle of the year,” he said.
Fredericks said their program relies heavily on the mentoring toolkit created by the education department, tweaking it only to limit extra paperwork for teachers. Courtney Van Cleve, MDE director of teacher acquisition and effectiveness, said that the toolkit was borne out of the Mississippi Teacher Residency, an alternate route teaching certification program.
“We were creating a lot of these resources along the way… and thought that it would be a great opportunity to expand the reach of those resources,” she said.
Those resources cover mentor selection, observation schedules, professional development powerpoints and surveys for feedback.
Fredericks, who is in his fifth year teaching in the West Tallahatchie School District, said he relied on the principals at the elementary and high school to identify mentors and mentees. This year, there are three mentor pairs at the elementary school and five at the high school.
Each month, mentor pairs focus their conversations and observations on a new topic. So far, they’ve covered classroom setup and management, managing instructional time, collaboration and working with your data.
Laura Hoseman, a mentee in the program, said she appreciates the structured nature. Hoseman teaches junior and senior English at West Tallahatchie High School and said she particularly appreciated her mentor’s guidance on developing engaging lessons since students can lose interest after they pass the 10th-grade state test.
She also highlighted the sense of community among program participants and said it is a community “geared toward solutions.”
“Yes we can be critical about what I’m not, as a teacher, doing well, but not in a way where I’m going to feel undervalued,” she said. “I actually feel quite valued.”
Fredericks pointed to state and national research showing the positive impact of mentorship in keeping teachers in the classroom, citing the Mississippi Department of Education’s 2022 teacher retention survey. In it, 23% of respondents said having a formally assigned mentor when they were new teachers was the biggest reason they remained in the profession, the most popular of the responses.
Van Cleve also cited this survey, pointing to mentorship’s positive impact for the mentor teachers as well.
“Mentoring is in itself a teacher retention strategy for a lot of mentor teachers,” she said. “It’s another connection, it’s another reason, it’s another person to (expand) their school network that continues to encourage them to stay in the profession, that they have experiences and insights to offer.”
Van Cleve said a financial incentive to be a mentor can help retain teachers. The West Tallahatchie program is using federal pandemic relief money to pay mentor teachers a $2,750 stipend over the school year.
Angela Wilson, a math teacher at R.H. Bearden Elementary and a mentor in the program, said she was excited about the opportunity to build new relationships in her school and help new teachers through a hard and overwhelming time. She said she has watched significant turnover in the district and hopes this program can help stem it.
“If we have more teachers that are struggling that are afraid to say something, if we could get more people involved it would be great because that’s how we’re going to keep our teachers in the schools,” she said.
House Speaker Jason White, in his first public speech after being elected on Tuesday, proposed reforming Mississippi’s public school funding formula — the subject of years of debate at the Capitol and across the state.
The funding formula used to allocate money to public schools, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, was established by the Legislature in 1997 and has been consistently underfunded every year since 2008. MAEP funding provides the state’s share of funding for the basic operations of local school districts, ranging from teacher salaries to textbooks to utilities.
Allocations under the formula multiply attendance by the base student cost, a number calculated by the Mississippi Department of Education that reflects the amount necessary to “adequately” educate a student. Local school districts are required to pay a portion of their allocation based on property taxes, but state law guarantees that no district will pay more than 27%. This provision, known as “the 27% rule”, primarily benefits wealthier districts since their property taxes generate more funds.
In his speech, White did not advance specific policy proposals but identified the 27% rule as needing further scrutiny.
“We are certainly spending plenty,” he said. “Let’s be sure we’re spending wisely.”
White confirmed to reporters he is not looking to cut public education funding, but instead evaluate where it is spent. He continued by identifying underperforming school districts as a priority and said he would like to work with local superintendents to improve outcomes.
White also discussed his interest in career and technical education programs, which place high school students in certificate programs instead of college prep courses. White linked this issue to other voucher and school choice debates, framing it as a form of choice for parents and students to be able to select their diploma track.
Last year, Senate leaders introduced a plan in early March to give an additional $181 million to public schools by slightly modifying the MAEP formula and fully funding the new version. Despite the plan passing the Senate unanimously, House leadership refused to put more money into the formula, saying they believed it would be used for increased administrative spending and would not benefit students. Instead, House leaders wanted to direct additional funding into specific programs, like the capital improvements loan fund or an assistant teacher pay raise.
Neither proposal triumphed, with lawmakers eventually agreeing to give an additional $100 million to school districts outside of the funding formula. The additional money could be spent similarly to MAEP and was also distributed based on attendance, save that it could not be used for superintendent, assistant superintendent or principal raises.
Secretary of State Michael Watson on Wednesday outlined his legislative agenda, continuing his call for campaign finance reform, voicing support for reinstated ballot initiative rights and vowing to be “a wrecking ball” for business regulations.
Watson also confirmed that his office received the email bomb threat that closed the Capitol for a few hours Wednesday morning, although he deferred further questions to law enforcement.
During last year’s statewide elections, Watson’s office flagged several potential campaign finance violations and fielded numerous complaints as millions of dollars of dark money flowed into Mississippi races amid what appeared to be flagrant disregard for the law. The election cycle showed again that Mississippi has weak campaign finance laws and nearly nonexistent enforcement. Watson said at the time his office has no enforcement authority over violations.
“We sent 10, 11, 12 campaign issues, some of which we felt were fraud, to the attorney general’s office, and we saw no enforcement of that,” Watson said.
Watson said he is pushing for his office to have authority to issue fines for campaign finance violations and a revamping of laws.
He said he also is pushing lawmakers to approve – and pay for — a new campaign finance reporting system, so voters can easily view and search campaign donations to candidates as is the case in most other states. Watson has previously estimated such a digital system would cost $2 million to $3 million.
Watson also said he wants to end the “grandfathering” in state law of candidates being able to spend money from pre-2018 campaign accounts on personal expenses. Reforms passed in 2017 allowed candidates to keep the old accounts provided they didn’t accept new donations and kept them separate from new accounts, from which personal spending is prohibited. Watson said about 40 politicians still have such legacy accounts totaling about $5 million. He said Gov. Tate Reeves’ is most notable, containing about $1.9 million, and is drawing thousands of dollars in interest each year.
“I’m not trying to point fingers at anybody with this,” Watson said, “… but I think it’s just wrong.”
Watson said he also wants lawmakers to change law to prohibit political action committees from donating to each other as a way to obfuscate the source of donations to politicians.
“I want to eliminate PAC to PAC contributions,” Watson said.
Watson said he also wants lawmakers to restructure the Occupational Licensure Review Board on which he serves with the governor and attorney general. Watson proposes adding several other state officials, but removing the attorney general because that office also legally represents the boards and commissions the OLRC is monitoring.
The OLRC was created by lawmakers in recent years as a way to rein in the many agencies, boards and commissions that regulate and license many businesses in Mississippi. The Magnolia State ranks high nationwide in the number of occupations that require special licensure, and many GOP leaders including Watson have called for less regulation.
Watson said Wednesday he plans to be “a wrecking ball” for such boards and commissions and red tape.
Watson also said he supports lawmakers reinstating voters’ right to ballot initiative — to take matters in hand and sidestep lawmakers with a statewide vote.
“We govern by the consent of those who are governed,” Watson said.
Watson said he is not proposing any major changes to the state’s voting system, such as expanded early voting.
“No, but there are more conversations every day about such issues,” Watson said. “As far as I’m aware we have a really good system here in Mississippi.”
Like most of America, the Clevelands watched college football all day and all night on the first day of 2024. The takeaway: Washington quarterback Michael Penix stole the New Year’s Day show. Meanwhile, Ole Miss will be in the hunt in 2024.
UPDATE: The Mississippi Department of Public Safety gave the all-clear for the state Capitol shortly before 11 a.m. on Wednesday after sweeping the building following a bomb threat early in the morning.
“The building was thoroughly searched, and no explosives or suspicious equipment were found,” DPS spokeswoman Bailey Martin said. “This is an ongoing investigation and there is no further threat to the Capitol or surrounding buildings.”
Capitol staffers were being turned away from the building early Wednesday morning after a bomb threat, Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell confirmed to Mississippi Today.
Mississippi’s was one of five state capitols to receive a bomb threat Wednesday morning. News outlets in Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky and Michigan reported similar threats, with some reports that they came from an email to secretary of states’ offices. Authorities in Georgia said the threat proved a “hoax” and gave the all clear for people to return to the capitol building there.
“It’s likely nothing, but we are going through our normal protocols,” Tindell said. This included closing entrances, turning away staff and blocking off streets around the building in downtown Jackson. Tindell said the building was being swept by explosive-detecting dogs.
Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office declined comment and deferred questions to DPS.
There was a heavy police presence around the Capitol on Wednesday morning. Police blocked both roads and sidewalks in a one-block radius around the building, and some Capitol staff stood on the lawn away from the building. The closed roads were causing some traffic backup on West Street and High Street as people were arriving downtown for work between 7 and 8 a.m.
Further information on the nature of the bomb threat was not immediately being provided by authorities.
DPS Deputy Commissioner Keith Davis said authorities were notified about the threat about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday. He said anyone with business at the Capitol on Wednesday should check for delays by visiting legislature.ms.gov for updates.
In a statement DPS said, “The Mississippi Department of Public Safety was notified earlier this morning of suspicious activity in and around the Mississippi State Capitol … Standard emergency procedures are being followed and conducted. At this time, no further comment will be made and additional information will be provided when possible.”
Wednesday marks the second day of the 2024 Mississippi legislative session. On Tuesday the Capitol was packed with lawmakers who were being sworn in, family and legislative staff.
Republican Rep. Jason White of West won the election on Tuesday to become the new speaker of the House of Representatives, ushering in a new chapter of political power at the Mississippi State Capitol.
The 122-member chamber unanimously elected White by acclamation, and he was the only person nominated for speaker. His election to one of the most powerful positions in state government was not a surprise, but it still represents a shift in legislative politics.
“I look forward to working with all of you for the betterment of Mississippi,” White said in a speech to the House on Tuesday. “Many of us here, we see things from very different perspectives, different viewpoints. But I also know we love this state and want to do what’s best, what’s right for her people.”
White, 50, was first elected to the House in 2011 as a Democrat, but he quickly switched to the Republican Party the following year. He represents portions of Attala, Carroll, Holmes and Leake counties and previously led the House Rules Committee and the House Management Committee.
The new speaker replaces Philip Gunn, a Republican from Clinton, who announced last year that he would not seek another term for his House seat. White was one of Gunn’s top lieutenants and most trusted advisers over the past three terms.
The speaker is not a statewide office position, but it carries power and influence similar to a statewide post. The speaker appoints committee leaders in the House and helps drive policy decisions during a legislative session.
One of the largest questions looming over the 2024 legislative session and now White, who represents a rural district, is if he will openly push for the Republican-dominated chamber to consider expanding Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act to the working poor who do not have health insurance.
White has expressed in blunt terms that the state’s Republicans have not had a frank and open discussion about Medicaid expansion.
In his speech to the House members on Tuesday, White told his colleagues to keep an “open mind” when examining Mississippi’s health care system, whose rural hospitals have consistently eliminated services and raised alarm bells on their long-term survival.
Still, the new speaker stopped short of backing a specific proposal for addressing the health care crisis. He did, however, appear to get out in front of some anti-expansion rhetoric.
“We need to find ways to ensure that the folks who are working have some basic level of health care that keeps them in the workforce and out of the emergency room,” White said. “I’m not talking about a government handout. I’m talking about provider-led solutions that the state will foster and facilitate.”
Other policy priorities the speaker outlined were changing portions of Mississippi’s public school funding formula, generally reducing government spending, and reforming the way the Legislature writes the state budget. He vowed to allow members the chance to read each and every budget bill before they were asked to vote on them — a standard practice in the Capitol for the past several years.
White’s address to the House chamber represents a notable break from the past 12 years of Gunn’s speakership, who became notorious for his tight grip on legislative decisions and using his power to ram legislation through the Capitol.
“Now, it’s time to be here,” White said. “What does that mean? That means working with your colleagues in the House both within your caucus and across the aisle. That means considering ideas and positions you may not have considered or thought through before.”
The Democratic members did not put a candidate forward for speaker or contest White’s nomination, and many Democrats stood on Tuesday for an extended ovation following White’s speech.
Rep. Robert Johnson III, a Democrat from Natchez who is expected to become the House Minority Leader, told Mississippi Today that he believes the Democratic caucus will have a good working relationship with White, though Johnson still has questions about some of White’s policy proposals.
“Jason has always been open and honest,” Johnson said. “I’m encouraged, and I think we’ll work well together.”
The House on Tuesday also elected Rep. Manly Barton, a Republican from Moss Point, to serve as the speaker pro tempore, who presides over the House when the speaker is absent and often serves as a key advisor to the speaker.
Barton was first elected to the House in 2011 and sworn into office in 2012. He represents portions of George and Jackson counties and previously chaired the House Local and Private Committee.
Sen. Dean Kirby, a Republican from Pearl, will serve another four-year term as “the senators’ senator.”
Kirby, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, was selected unanimously Tuesday on the opening day of the 2024 session by the 52 members of the Mississippi Senate to serve as the Senate president pro tempore. His selection as the Senate’s second-in-command was not a surprise, and he faced no opposition.
Kirby, who is an insurance agent, has served the past four years in the post. The Senate pro-tem is a constitutionally created position, and second in the line of succession to the governor, behind the lieutenant governor but ahead of the speaker.
“It is an honor to serve as pro-tem,” Kirby said. “I appreciate the confidence other senators have placed in me. As you know, being elected pro-tem is to serve as the senators’ senator. I have worked hard to try to be that. Maybe that is why I did not have any opposition.”
Kirby also said he has enjoyed working with Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, whom he referred to as “a workaholic” who makes his job easier. The lieutenant governor presides over the Senate.
The pro-tem is normally a close ally of the lieutenant governor, and Kirby has certainly served that role for Hosemann, who was elected to his second term in the post in the November general election. While Kirby, as others have, referred to the pro-tem as the senators’ senator who serves as a voice for Senate members, traditionally the lieutenant governor has influence over who is selected for the post. And this year, Kirby had the backing of Hosemann as he did four years ago.
Besides presiding over the Senate in the absence of the lieutenant governor, the pro-tem also chairs the Senate Rules Committee and oversees much of the day-to-day operation of the Senate staff.
On Tuesday, Kirby was placed in nomination by fellow Rankin County senator, Republican Josh Harkins. His nomination was seconded by Democratic Sen. Hillman Frazier of Jackson and Republican Sen. Brice Wiggins of Pascagoula.
Harkins said Kirby’s “character, his integrity his enthusiasm … make him a great candidate for this position.”
In seconding the nomination, Frazier said: “In this body you have two types of horses: the show horse and work horse. The show horse does stuff for attention. Sen. Dean Kirby is, in fact, a work horse. He works very hard to get things done … He puts policy over personal politics. He is respected by this body.”
Kirby has held multiple key positions during his long tenure, including chairmanships of both the Finance and Public Health committees.
But he said serving as pro-tem “is the best thing I have ever done. Being the president pro-tem has been the highlight of my career.”
The new year began without creation of a separate, state-run court in Jackson that some lawmakers lobbied as a solution to crime and advocates see as a threat to residents’ civil and voting rights.
Under House Bill 1020, the Capitol Complex Improvement District Court was supposed to be established Jan. 1, but at the 11th hour a panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary administrative stay until the end of the week, Jan. 5.
“The NAACP stands firm in our belief that this legislation is inherently undemocratic,” the organization, who sued on behalf of several Jackson residents, said in a Monday statement.
“We will continue to do everything in our power to fight for Jackson residents’ rights to have control over their own institutions and live free from state-driven discrimination.”
The NAACP appealed after U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued his order the evening of Dec. 31 in which he rejected requests to block the court’s creation through a preliminary injunction.
Wingate wrote the plaintiffs failed to show that they were in “actual or imminent danger” of experiencing concrete or particular injury from the CCID court’s establishment or appointments of a judge and two prosecutors to that court.
Attorneys from the NAACP have argued in court hearings and filings from throughout 2023 that the CCID court prevents local voters from voting for judges and prosecutors from the community who would be accountable to them and can be held accountable by local officials.
The state’s attorneys have said in court and filings that residents’ voting rights would not be affected by the court’s creation, and that none of the plaintiffs has or plans to appear before the CCID court.
A majority of the majority-white, Repubclican-controlled Legislature passed HB 1020 during the previous session, seeing it as a solution for Jackson’s crime and a way to bolster public safety. Many Black lawmakers and those who represent the majority-Black Jackson and Hinds County spoke out against the legislation and its approach to crime and public safety.
The state Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Randolph is directed under the law to make appointments to the CCID court, which to date have not been made.
Under the law, Randolph also was empowered to appoint temporary judges to the Hinds County Circuit Court. He was prevented from doing so under a temporary restraining order Wingate approved in May and, because up until September, he was still a defendant in the lawsuit against HB 1020.
The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled these appointments unconstitutional in a state lawsuit against HB 1020. Like Wingate, the justices ruled that creation of the CCID court did not violate the state constitution.
To date, Wingate has not ruled on several other motions before him regard HB 1020, including a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the lawsuit.
