OurTupelo

In the 1990s, legislators passed innovative proposals to forgive student loan debt for college graduates who agreed to teach in Mississippi schools.

The proposals, shepherded through the Legislature by then-education committee chairs Billy McCoy in the House and Grey Ferris in the Senate, were the first of many similar proposals passed by legislators over the decades to deal with the shortage of educators.

Today, those proposals have a couple of things in common: None of them are currently funded, and they put the state in the position of having to be a collection agency when the teachers – often for legitimate reasons – don’t complete their commitment to teach in Mississippi.

And, oh yeah, the teacher shortage still exists.

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, the vice chair of the Senate Education Committee, believes there is a better way to help pay for a new teacher’s college education. Blount has proposed the William F. Winter and Jack Reed Sr. Teacher Loan Repayment Program.

Blount’s proposal is different. The other programs help fund students’ college education as they progress toward their degree in exchange for a commitment they will teach so many years in the state’s public schools after graduation.

Blount’s proposal would pay off a portion of the loan over a three-year period as the new graduate teaches in Mississippi schools.

“Things change,” Blount said. “People’s life plans change. Instead of teaching in Mississippi, a person for whatever reason might move (out of state) or never teach. That puts the state in the position of having to collect that debt.”

The numbers are still being worked out, but Blount envisions, if the program is approved and funded by the Legislature, that a person would receive a payment of $2,000 toward the loan debt for the first year he or she teaches, $3,000 for the second year and $4,000 for the third year. Such payments would go a long way toward paying off the loan.

Some of the programs passed by the Legislature have focused on providing financial aid for people to teach in geographic areas or in subject areas where the shortage is more prevalent. The current proposal would provide financial assistance for teaching anywhere in the state, though the final bill could provide additional help for teaching in certain geographic areas or subject areas.

The bill also would repeal the about a dozen similar programs on the books.

“We are not taking anything away because those programs are not being funded,” Blount said.

Many long-term observers of public education would say it is appropriate Blount chose to name the legislation after former Gov. Winter and Tupelo businessman Reed. The pair, both deceased, are inextricably linked when it comes to public education.

“They were good friends and both were great Mississippians,” said Blount who grew up in Jackson but whose mother – the former Martha Lynn Means – is from Tupelo where he said he got to know Reed.

It was Reed who served as the chair of the blue ribbon education commission Winter formed, leading to the historic passage of the Education Reform Act of 1982 that created public kindergarten, school accountability and other items. And it was Reed whom Winter appointed to the newly formed state Board of Education in the 1980s. Reed was the panel’s first chair.

Reed’s willingness to speak up for public education as a leader in the Mississippi Economic Council in the 1960s, when many politicians were talking about closing schools to avoid integration, will go down as a profile in courage.

In 2006, Winter and Reed led a rally of more than a 1,000 at the state Capitol in favor of fully funding education. Reed, with his dry sense of humor, proclaimed to the crowd he and Winter were octogenarians for public education. As Reed spoke, Winter displayed a grin as if showing appreciation for his longtime friend.

And of course, prior to that episode, Winter and Reed were tapped by then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to serve on a commission that worked to replace the state flag, which prominently displayed the Confederate battle emblem. Even their genuine good-natured disposition could not diffuse the hostility that manifested itself at the commission’s public hearings.

Former Rep. Steve Holland of Plantersville, who served on the flag commission, described it “as the most never-wrecking experience any of us had ever had, but Gov. Winter and Jack both were calming influences.”

He added, “I would ride to Jackson with Jack. We literally had our lives threatened. We would be riding back and he would just about laugh and say the world is full of fools.”

The Mississippi Association of Partners in Education annually honors someone involved in education with the Winter-Reed Partnership Award.

Blount’s legislation being considered this year could further Winter’s and Reed’s long legacy in public education.

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Over coffee recently, we were discussing long-range ramifications, almost all bad, of this COVID-19 pandemic. Someone asked if there might be anything positive to come from it. There was a long pause.

I said I might have something. And I might. See what you think.

Some background: I live in the Fondren/Woodland Hills area of Jackson. Funky Fondren, we call it, and we love it, nearly everything about it. We love the old houses, the glorious old trees, the mostly wide streets, the diversity of our neighbors, the terrific restaurants, the taverns, the coffee shops, all of it.

Now I am a walker. I walk a lot. I was once a runner, but lower back and knee issues changed me into a walker. We’ll get to that.

Here’s what I have noticed over the last few months of the pandemic: I have so much more pedestrian company. More people are walking and jogging. Families are out taking morning walks and evening walks. People are walking more at all times of the day – from before dawn until well into the night. I have no scientific evidence but would guess foot traffic easily has tripled, perhaps more, in the past year. That’s a good thing.

Let’s face it, there’s little else to do during the pandemic. There are only so many books you can read, so much TV you can watch, so many card games you can play. I suspect many may have learned what I have come to know. That is, walking is not only good for your physical health, it is good for your soul. I walk for exercise. I walk to clear my mind. I walk so sometimes I can have that second helping. During the pandemic, I have walked for sanity. I have walked when the temps were above 90 and have bundled up and walked when it has been below freezing. I walked during the Mississippi version of a snowstorm the other day. Beautiful.

Sometimes, I listen to podcasts or ballgames. Sometimes, I listen to music. And sometimes, I just enjoy the sounds and smells of the neighborhood. Yesterday, I listened to The Daily podcast, The Athletic podcast, our weekly Mississippi Today podcast and two Little Feat albums. It was a long walk, a six-miler. One New Year’s resolution: I want to try listening to audiobooks.

My pace rarely varies. I walk 15-to-16 minute miles, a brisk but manageable pace, right at four miles per hour. I can, when I have company on my walks, carry on a conversation – even up a hill.

Six years ago, I began keeping a walking log with a goal of at least 20 miles a week. I have missed that goal just once. My mileage has increased each year. I have my 2020 log in front of me. I walked 1,613 miles, an average of 4.42 miles a day, a tad over 25 miles a week. That was up more than 300 miles from 2019.

My family and friends jokingly – I hope – refer to me as The White Walker, which I am told comes from Game of Thrones. I googled it. I probably did look a little like that on the snow day.

Some friends clearly believe I have gone overboard on the walking. Perhaps, but if so, I have my reasons. I turned 68 last October. Both my parents died at that exact age. Six years ago, I had a scare. I got out of bed only to fall back in it. I got back up, fell back again. A few minutes later, I felt fine and went on to work.

My wife, who had been sleeping – or trying to sleep – during my episode, called the office and asked what had been going on. I explained. She told me to meet her at the emergency room. I did. They checked my blood pressure: 200/120, scary high. They checked me into the hospital, did all sorts of tests and determined I had experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a mini-stroke with no lasting damage.

“You’re lucky,” the doctor told me. “You have received a shot over the bow that barely missed.”

Strokes killed my dad.

I asked what I needed to do. He asked me how much I exercised. “Not nearly as much as I used to,” was my honest answer. I told him about my knees and my lower back.

He told me I needed to get back to it. He told me I needed to lose 20 pounds. He told me walking would help me as much as running if I did it regularly, 30-45 minutes a day, five days a week.

So, of course, I did more. I weighed 224 that day. I weigh 188 now.

The more I read about staying fit as we age, the more I learn about how much strength exercises benefit older adults, of which I am now officially one. We lose muscle as we age. Strength training combats this. I had lifted weights nearly religiously into my 50s, but had given that up. I decided to incorporate pushups, chin-ups and sit-ups into my fitness routine. Sit-ups hurt my back so I switched to planks. Five years ago, I could not do one single complete chin-up. Now I do six sets of 12 reps at least twice a week. I do hundreds of pushups and planks a week. I stretch a lot, as well. I keep a log of all that and won’t bore you with those details, except this one: Recently, during a checkup, my blood pressure was 116/60. I hit a golf ball as far as I did 25 years ago. (I still can’t putt a lick.)

I am not saying what I do is for everyone. It does work for me. My eyes tell me that at least the walking part is working for a lot more people these days. Again, if ask me, that’s a good thing.

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In 1999, 23,700 struggling Mississippi families received the welfare check — a max of $170 a month for a family of three.

Today, the number of families has dropped to under 3,000, and the amount remains $170.

In those two decades, as fewer and fewer families sought or qualified for the meager benefit, Mississippi had to find other ways to spend the $86.5 million annual block grant from the federal government called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Mississippi public and nonprofit officials used the money to purchase a new volleyball stadium, a horse ranch for a famous athlete, multi-million dollar celebrity speaking engagements, high-tech virtual reality equipment, luxury vehicles, steakhouse dinners and even a speeding ticket, to name a few. They were under virtually no requirement to report this detailed spending to the federal government.

“Once you talk yourself into ignoring the laws and the regs around how to spend the money, it’s easy to talk yourself into increasingly absurd expenditures over time,” said State Auditor Shad White, whose office investigated the misspending and eventually arrested six people within a $4 million welfare fraud conspiracy nearly a year ago.

In 2019, the state spent just $5 million of the fund on cash assistance, diverted $27 million to Child Protections Services, which oversees the state’s foster care system, and spent the rest, $47 million, on other stuff, according to federal reports.

This year, a bill to increase the benefit from $170 to $260 — which closely reflects two decades of inflation — is making its way through the Legislature at the request of the new Mississippi Department of Human Services administration.

READ MORE: Senate committee approves Mississippi’s first welfare check increase since 1999.

Another measure the agency requested would ease the state’s eligibility determination process for public assistance recipients, reducing the agency manpower needed to process applications. The state has the strictest income reporting requirements in the nation, which Mississippi Department of Human Services Director Bob Anderson called an unintended consequence of the controversial Act to Restore Hope Opportunity and Prosperity for Everyone, or “HOPE Act,” lawmakers passed in 2017.

The Senate Public Health Committee advanced both pieces of legislation authored by Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, on Wednesday.

If the benefit increase is passed and signed, the policy change would result in a greater portion of Mississippi’s TANF dollars flowing into the pockets of poor Mississippians, instead of ancillary products or services that may or may not have a meaningful impact on the lives of people living in poverty.

From 2017-2019, two nonprofits that ran a program called Families First for Mississippi received $100 million in welfare money and reported helping 652 people receive a Career Ready Certificate, 94 write a resume and 72 complete a job application. They tracked no employment outcomes of the people they assisted. A representative from one of the nonprofits, Mississippi Community Education Center, previously told Mississippi Today its “main goal is getting them off TANF.”

The cash assistance portion of the program has dwindled, not necessarily because people are in greater economic circumstances; instead, advocates say, many families find that the meager benefit is not worth the myriad of paperwork and continuous compliance reviews. The increase, while seemingly nominal, may result in more people seeking the assistance who would have not otherwise.

“It’s not a ton of money. I mean, no one’s going to look at that and think anyone’s getting more than they deserve. But certainly, every little bit helps,” Fillingane said.

The welfare agency previously provided records to Mississippi Today that show between 2017 and 2018, nearly 75% of people denied TANF were turned away not because they failed to meet a specific eligibility requirement, but because their applications were either incomplete or withdrawn.

If the bill to simplify eligibility passes, Fillingane said he expects Mississippi’s welfare rolls to grow as more people have an easier time proving and staying qualified for the program.

Fillingane said he hasn’t encountered any opposition to his legislation.

Despite trying to ramp up its media visibility with new weekly virtual town halls, Mississippi Department of Human Services’ communication department has not returned nine calls, texts or emails from Mississippi Today for this or other articles.

The post Mississippi found ‘absurd’ ways to spend welfare on anything but the poor. These bills would put more money into families’ pockets. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Gov. Tate Reeves on Thursday said he expects an increase in the state’s vaccine allotment starting next week and set a goal to administer 100,000 doses a week during the month of February.

After the state had received about 37,000 first doses a week the last few weeks, the governor said on Thursday he expects that weekly number to increase to 43,000 first doses starting the week of Feb. 1. He explained there was a decline in doses administered this week — about 27,000 doses have been administered this week as of Thursday — after the state “caught up” with its available supply. Reeves said he expects “another significant rise” in shots in arms next week.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reports more than 200,000 Mississippians, or about 7% of the state’s population, have received their first dose of the vaccine. The state health department on Thursday announced that individuals can now schedule their second shot immediately after receiving the first one.

“For all intents and purposes, we have caught up,” Reeves said. “We have put virtually every first dose in an arm or in an appointment that we have received.”

From Jan. 17 through Jan. 23, the state reported over 62,000 shots administered, so far the most Mississippi has seen in a week. While Reeves said he hopes to see that number reach 100,000 by next month, he added that it will depend on an increase in federal allotments. If that allotment increases from 43,000 to 50,000, ideally Mississippi will be able to see 50,000 first doses and 50,000 second doses each administered per week, he explained.

READ MORE: “Unpredictable and limited”: Mississippi’s top health official urges patience with COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

Health experts, including State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs, have continually cautioned that vaccine rollout depends completely on the allotment of vaccines the state receives from the federal government.

“It’s unpredictable and limited,” Dobbs said of the state’s vaccine supply in a Jan. 22 video interview with LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “We have a sense that we will probably get a steady trickle of vaccine. It’s probably like .1% of the population every week right now at the current pace.

“We just found out yesterday what we’ll get for next week,” Dobbs continued. “All these clinics we have scheduled, we schedule them based on anticipated inventory. But we never know for sure.”

Reeves also announced on Thursday the retirement of Greg Michel as director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, which has overseen much of the state’s COVID-19 response. Former Gov. Phil Bryant first appointed Michel to the role in 2018.

MEMA deputy director Stephen McCraney will now take over as director of the agency after serving as second-in-command since 2016.

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Since both the House and Senate have instituted extra COVID-19 safety guidelines this week, at least one additional legislator has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said there have been four positive tests in the Senate where he presides. At the end of last week before the additional protocols were put in place, the Senate reported two confirmed COVID-19 cases and one likely case.

In addition to the positive tests, Hosemann said there are an unspecified number of senators who might be quarantined from coming to the Capitol because of the close contact they had with a member who recently tested positive.

In the House, one member tested positive earlier this session. Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, said he did not know of any other positive tests among House members.

This week, as members work to take up bills in committee, both chambers have allowed members to participate via Zoom. Gunn has also insisted that at this point in the legislative session when members are only in full session for a short time each day that they participate virtually.

But starting next week when members are in full session for long periods to take up the bills that have been passed out of committee, Gunn said they will have to attend in person. He said precautions will be taken to allow members to listen out of the chamber and then come in as they need to vote.

The House leaders have interpreted the rules and laws as to allow their members to meet at this time exclusively by Zoom. On the other hand, while Senate members have been be allowed to conduct some activities via the internet, their leaders have interpreted the rules and laws as requiring them to at least check in at the Capitol.

Gunn said the House safety precautions have been effective in stifling the spread of the coronavirus while letting members get their work done.

“I think we had a few glitches the first day with the technology, but as I understand all that has been worked out,” he said.

Hosemann had advocated recessing in the session for a time to allow more people to receive the coronavirus vaccine, but Gunn has rejected that idea.

Many members, especially those over age 65, were vaccinated last week at the Capitol. Gunn said when the second round of vaccinations are completed in the coming days that should help with the issue of safety at the state Capitol.

Legislative leaders have been trying to avoid what happened in June while the Legislature was in session when 49 of the 175 members (including the lieutenant governor) tested positive, resulting in multiple hospitalizations. Staff members also tested positive at that time.

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Here we go!

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Legislative leaders appear to agree that Mississippi’s long-neglected state parks need help, but while the Senate is pushing for privatization and turning parks over to local governments, the House wants to find a permanent stream of public funding.

“What that tells me is that the House and Senate agree it’s an issue,” said Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who oversees the Senate and said fixing the Mississippi’s dilapidated state parks is a priority. “We’ll all get together on this.”

Mississippi’s state parks have suffered from years of neglected maintenance and budget cuts to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks. The price tag to bring the state’s 25 parks (three of which are run by local governments) up to snuff is an estimated $147 million. Plus, millions more a year would be needed to keep them up — prompting discussion of privatization and a search for other options.

READ MORE: Lawmakers consider privatizing Mississippi’s dilapidated, underfunded state parks.

Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Chairman Neil Whaley, R-Potts Camp, with Hosemann’s backing has authored Senate Bill 2486 that would leave only four state parks under MDWFP management: Holmes County, Leroy Percy, LeFleur’s Bluff and Shepard. Others would be leased to private entities, turned over to counties or cities or converted to wildlife conservation areas.

Hosemann said many parks could benefit from “an infusion of knowledge and capital” from privatization.

But privatization of parks has drawn fierce debate nationwide and in Mississippi. Opponents fear private developers would “cherry pick” the best state parks that could turn profits leaving others neglected, or that privatization would turn parks into expensive resorts and limit public access.

House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Chairman Bill Kinkade’s committee has moved forward two measures. One, House Bill 152, would divert $3.5 million a year in state lottery money to a “deferred maintenance” plan for parks. Another, House Bill 1231, would divert about a million a year in sales taxes collected at sporting goods stores to a new “Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund,” with the fund capped at $20 million. Kinkade said other measures, such as bond or borrowing bills for parks, will likely be considered this year.

Kinkade said he is trying to provide dedicated sources of funding for parks maintenance and to match federal funds as many other states do. He said the Senate plan appears “short sighted.”

“All (the Senate) is giving is a partial privatization plan,” Kinkade said. “That’s not a long-term strategic plan. I don’t want to send bad smoke signals about us not looking at their proposal, but I am concerned about it being a short-sighted plan. These state parks belong to the people of this state … It’s an issue of conservation of our natural resources.”

The lottery parks bill, authored by Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, originally called for diverting 10% of lottery proceeds to parks, but Kinkade said that is being pared down to $3.5 million.

Current law dedicates up to $80 million a year in state lottery proceeds to road and bridge funding, with any additional going to an education fund. The lottery hasn’t operated for a full fiscal year yet, but for its first eight months the state netted more than $70 million and has recently been averaging about $10 million a week.

Kinkade said he has met with House education, appropriations and transportation leaders and they’ve approved of the parks diversion of lottery money. He noted that state parks include about 85 miles of roads and bridges — a large part of the maintenance cost that would be in line with the intent of the lottery law to fund infrastructure.

Kinkade said Mississippi parks need a dedicated source of money for maintenance and improvements.

This comes as other states cash in on state park tourism, with the COVID-19 pandemic driving demand for RV-ing, camping and outdoor vacationing and recreation.

Mississippi receives about 1 million visitors to its parks each year. Arkansas state parks attract nearly 8.5 million visitors a year and serve as the state’s largest tourism draw, generating more than $1 billion a year for that state’s economy. Alabama sees nearly 5 million visitors to its parks annually, with an economic impact of about $375 million.

In Arkansas, parks are funded through a dedicated “conservation tax.” In Alabama, parks are 90% self-funded through fees and rentals. Mississippi parks lack an adequate dedicated funding source.

Kinkade said Georgia has a trust fund for parks similar to the one being proposed here.

Louie Miller, director of the Sierra Club of Mississippi, blasted the Senate parks privatization proposal as “draconian,” and a move to “dismantle our park system.”

“It’s an absolute step in the wrong direction,” Miller said. “We won’t recognize our state park system if this passes.”

Miller said the legal definition of public trust doctrine — for things such as public parks — is that they are preserved for public use and that the government owns, protects and maintains them.

Miller said the House move to find permanent funding for parks “is a step in the right direction.”

Hosemann said that, as former secretary of state, he has a record of championing public lands as he led the state’s acquisition of Cat Island off the Coast and thousands of acres statewide. He said he would oppose any privatization that restricted public access to parks or raised prices drastically. On Thursday he said that he supports the current Senate proposal to have some privatization of park operations, but that he would oppose selling any park lands to private entities.

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Lawmakers are considering withdrawing the state from the liquor and wine business, letting private industry take over warehousing and distributing liquor — something the state has struggled to do efficiently.

The Legislature is also considering allowing home delivery of liquor, wine and beer, similar to delivery services for groceries and restaurant takeout that have become popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both measures appear to have traction in the Legislature this session, even in a Bible Belt state that has been slow to relax or change its strict liquor laws.

“The time has come that we address these issues,” House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar said of the move to privatize liquor distribution. “… I happen to believe that it is not a core function of government to run a liquor warehouse … If it were done today, if it were day one, we would never put government in charge of liquor. How do we unwind it? That’s where it gets a little hard.”

Mississippi is one of 17 states that tightly control the sale of liquor, and one of 10 that sell spirits to all private package stores. Seven directly own all the liquor stores in their states.

Mississippi’s warehouse and distribution, run by the Alcoholic Beverage Control division of the Department of Revenue, has for years struggled to keep up with demand and new products and its warehouse is too small and antiquated. Lawmakers have been reluctant to sink money into upgrades of the warehouse and system. Upgrading the state’s warehouse and distribution system would cost taxpayers an estimated $40 million.

House Bill 997, which passed Ways and Means and is before the full House, would allow private distributors to come in and take over distribution and warehousing of liquor and wine.

Lamar said that “on paper,” it would look like the state would lose millions in revenue from privatization, but he believes state coffers will instead see increases.

Mississippi marks up the liquor it sells to package stores and bars by 27.5%, which Lamar said brings in about $80 million. The new legislation would reduce that state markup 18% as private distributors take over.

“On paper, it would drop to about $55 million,” Lamar said. “However, we’ve received commitments from three major wholesalers that we know will enter this state. They will buy and construct large warehouses, and hire 100 to 200 employees each. Plus we’ll see smaller wholesalers. So we will have multiple investments, including 500 to 1,000 new jobs.

“Plus, the private sector will be able to properly meet demand, unlike we’ve been doing,” Lamar said. “I believe it would be sound policy to expect with the demand met, we would see more than we are collecting now. I believe a conservative estimate would be $100 million or more a year.”

Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Charleston, told Lamar, “This is a great bill. The only problem I see is that we should have done it 40 years ago. We’ve wasted a lot of time and money.”

Rep. Kevin Horan, R-Grenada, offered a successful amendment to the bill to provide pricing protection for package stores. It would prohibit private distributors from making sweetheart pricing deals with particular stores or chains and require them to offer uniform pricing to all stores.

Rep. Jerry Turner, R-Baldwyn, said he believes privatization is the right move, but he would like to see taxpayers’ decades long investment reimbursed by private industry.

“I think (distribution) should go through a public bid process — not just give it away,” Turner said. “Taxpayers have invested in this for many years, and they need to see a return on it.”

Senate Bill 2804 and its mirror House Bill 1135 would allow private delivery companies — such as Shipt and Instacart — to bring liquor, wine and beer to consumers 21 and older at their homes.

Both the Senate Finance committee and House Ways and Means committee passed the measures on to their full chambers.

Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, author of the Senate measure, said the deliveries would be similar to grocery deliveries that have become more popular during the pandemic. He said deliveries could not be made to people in dry jurisdictions, nor could purchases be made after hours for liquor stores.

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