Ninety-one percent of Jackson Public Schools employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after the district set a deadline of Nov. 1 for staff to get the shots.
Of the district’s 3,468 employees, approximately 325 remain unvaccinated and are tested weekly, according to Sherwin Johnson, executive director of public engagement for JPS.
Just over half of Hinds County residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Mississippi Department of Health.
The JPS policy also says that if a fully vaccinated employee contracts COVID-19 that person will be entitled to paid leave. Unvaccinated employees will not receive that benefit unless they are legally exempt because of a medical issue or sincerely held religious belief, per federal law.
They all cited the loss of instructional time as a result of quarantining or sick teachers and students as one major reason for encouraging staff get vaccinated.
Jackson Public Schools and Natchez-Adams School District are the only districts the Mississippi Department of Education is aware of that have implemented such a requirement, according to Department spokeswoman Jean Cook.
A little-known education board that oversees college financial aid in Mississippi has recently proposed a drastic overhaul of the state’s existing programs.
In lieu of three separate programs, the Post-Secondary Board put forward a single program called the “Mississippi One Grant” that would award financial aid based on a student’s income and ACT score.
Mississippi Today reviewed past conversations that led to this recent proposal, which is designed so that more students will qualify for financial aid, but it has raised concern among advocates for college access. Under the new program, the minimum ACT score that a student will need to qualify for any financial aid will be raised to 18 from the 15 that is currently needed to get the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant. For students in a state that only recently cracked an average ACT score of 18, that’s a significant barrier.
To the Post-Secondary Board, it’s simple economics: Raising the ACT score is one strategy to ensure the new program will stay in budget.
And to Mark Keenum, the sole university president on the eight-member board, it is a way to ensure students with “true merit” have the best shot at attending Mississippi State University.
At a Post-Secondary Board meeting recorded over Zoom in December 2020, Keenum articulated his vision for state financial aid during a discussion of how the programs should be rewritten: Too often, Mississippi’s financial aid programs go to poor, lower-performing kids and take money away from students with high ACT scores.
“When you look at MTAG, the dollar amounts that are provided are so small,” Keenum said, “and, you know, a student can get an MTAG grant that has say maybe a 15 or 16 on their ACT, and they can come and bring those dollars to Mississippi State University.
Keenum addresses the Post-Secondary Board at a December 2020 meeting. Credit: Mississippi Today
“I’ll just tell all of you, that student does not need to come to Mississippi State University. But we’ve given funding, although a small amount, to that student, and we ought not do that,” he continued. “We urge students to not come here — if it’s a Mississippi student, I cannot turn them away under state law. They show up here with a 15 or 16 or 17 on their ACT and a 2.0 grade point average, barely get out of high school. They’re not a candidate to come to Mississippi State, but I can’t deny them enrollment. But we’ve given them funding to come to Mississippi State. We should not do that.”
As currently written, Keenum continued, Mississippi’s financial aid programs don’t provide enough aid to students with higher ACT scores. If the state does not start providing more financial aid to “high-achieving” students, he said he feared they will go elsewhere for college.
“I wish we could come up with a way that we could reward true merit across a wider spectrum than we do, all the way up to that 36-ACT student, who everybody in the country wants and who we desperately have got to keep in the state of Mississippi if we can,” he said.
Keenum acknowledged the board needs to help working-class students in Mississippi, but the priority should be placed on retaining the best and the brightest.
“We’re a poor state, and we’ve got the lowest per-capita income in the nation, and we’ve got just poor people, and they need help, and we need to do what we can to support them and give them opportunities in life,” he said. “Thank goodness there are federal aid programs that provide a lot of support.”
Keenum is not alone in his desire to prioritize awarding financial aid to students with high ACT scores over addressing the needs of low-income students. The idea of using financial aid to reward “high-achieving” students has been popular since the 1990s when Georgia introduced the HOPE Scholarship. At an institutional level, public universities across the country have shifted their dollars to place a greater emphasis on awarding students with high ACT scores — the kind of students who are favored by rankings in U.S. News and World Report.
Mississippi Today asked to interview Keenum for this story, but he was not available to comment before press time.
Many policymakers are starting to place a greater emphasis on equity when it comes to financial aid, said Tom Harnisch, the vice president for government relations at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Does it make sense to award financial aid to students whose families can afford to pay for college? And what does “merit” mean in an unequal society?
“The whole concept of merit can be very problematic,” Harnisch told Mississippi Today. “These can be students who go to K-12 schools with the most resources that may have parents who are very well-educated, and who may have had test prep for the ACT or other college entrance exams. The whole notion of calling it ‘merit-based aid’ can be problematic when you think about some of the privileges these students enjoyed.”
Some states are charting a new path forward. Financial aid is increasingly seen as a tool to help states achieve certain workforce goals, said Frank Ballmann, the director of federal relations at the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.
Merit aid, on the other hand, tends to favor wealthier white students who can already afford to pay for college. Studies have shown that test scores tend to correlate with income. In Louisiana, a recent report found that the state’s merit grant funded tuition for 11,000 students whose families made more than $1 million a year.
In Mississippi, financial aid is also disproportionately awarded aid to white, wealthier students.
A key argument in favor of merit aid, which Keenum articulated at the December meeting, is that it can keep the best and brightest in state. There are some studies to support the idea that merit aid can stem brain drain. But it’s unclear if this is the case in Mississippi: A study from MSU research center NSPARC commissioned in 2018 found that the Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant did not increase in-state enrollment of high-achieving students.
No matter what the studies show, Keenum’s voice is powerful: Out of the eight public universities, MSU receives the largest chunk of state aid. It also has the most students attending on state financial aid. Keenum’s public opinions on financial aid hold a lot of sway — and what he advocates for will negatively affect working-class students, according to data from the Office of Student Financial Aid.
Under the “One Grant,” more state aid dollars will go to white students at the expense of their non-white peers, according to OSFA’s analysis. The average white student will receive $63 more than they would under the current system. The average Black student will lose out on $573 of state financial aid.
Watch: The December 2020 Post-Secondary Board meeting.
Near the end of the December meeting, Jennifer Rogers, OSFA’s director, asked the board what role a student’s income should play in awarding merit aid. If a student meets the requirements for a merit scholarship, she asked, does the board want to award aid “regardless of your ability to pay, regardless of your financial situation?”
“Yeah, I don’t think we want to get into means-testing,” Keenum answered. “Unless we want, to just, to our higher achieving students, just say, well, good luck in Tennessee or Arkansas or wherever you go to school.”
“If our state is not willing to step up like many of our surrounding states are doing, and others, then we’re gonna be really losing ground from a merit standpoint,” he continued. “I support need—no question. But we’ve also got to support achievement and recognize that and make those investments. … We don’t have the resources to make up for what would be taken away if we eliminated merit-based, we don’t just have the resources.”
“But if we looked at well, you’re from a family whose annual income is at this level and because you’re so well-off, we can’t match the out of state opportunities that these students have,” Keenum said, shaking his head. “I can tell you, and I don’t think our friends and leaders in the Legislature want to hear from parents about that either. So, I don’t think that’s, when you get into means-testing, is something I’d like to see us go down that path.”
Rogers replied that if the board wants to expand merit aid to more ACT scores, it will be looking at “a lot more money” than is currently allocated. “I’m just trying to figure out … what that looks like from a cost-perspective, if there’s any parameters on that,” she said. “And I’m hearing that you’re saying, you wouldn’t say so.”
Jim Turcotte, the Post-Secondary Board chairman, cut in.
“I don’t think this whole conversation is going like it needs to go,” he said, “so let me try to restate it here: Merit is merit. To quote Sharon Ross (another Post-Secondary Board member), ‘life is not fair.’”
Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that financial aid in general, not the HELP grant specifically, is disproportionately awarded to white, wealthier students.
The Mississippi Department of Health reported zero new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, making Nov. 3 the first day since June 30 without a pandemic-related death in Mississippi.
Though it’s just a single-day report, the announcement undoubtedly came as a relief to many living in the state with the highest COVID-19 death rate in the nation, which has lost one out of every 300 residents to the virus. In total, 10,134 Mississippians have died from COVID-19
If Mississippi were a country, it would have the third highest per capita death rate in the world, following only Peru and Bosnia.
The rate is even higher in some of Mississippi’s hardest-hit and least vaccinated counties, such as Neshoba County, which at one death per 141 residents has the highest death rate of any county in the nation.
Mississippi’s 7-day average for new infections (285) has dropped by 92% since the mid-August peak (3,586) of the Delta variant surge that saw the near-collapse of the state’s hospital system as they were overwhelmed by mostly unvaccinated patients. The rate of hospitalizations and deaths has followed this sharp downward trend.
The biggest culprit for the incredible levels of sickness and death from COVID-19 that Mississippians have experienced is the state’s low vaccination rate, which at 46% is the fifth-lowest in the nation.
Additional political leaders from Mississippi, the state with the nation’s highest COVID-19 fatality rate and one of the lowest vaccination rates, are joining the effort to halt President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.
U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, both Republicans, announced they are joining other Senate Republicans in a little-known process, a Congressional Review Act challenge, to try to overturn the mandate.
The portion of the mandate Wicker and Hyde-Smith are opposing, according to their news release, requires companies with 100 or more employees to require a COVID-19 vaccine for their workers. The guidelines for the mandate are expected to be released this week, according to news reports. The guidelines for other portions of the Biden vaccine mandate, requiring vaccines for employees of companies with federal contracts, provide exceptions for people on religious grounds and for health issues.
“The United States is not China or some other tyrannical country,” Hyde-Smith said in a statement. “President Biden exceeded his authority in his rush to force the vaccines on the American people. I believe the COVID-19 vaccine saves lives, but I also trust the American people to make the best medical decision for themselves and their families at this point in the pandemic.”
For decades there have been multiple vaccine mandates in the country, including in Mississippi. Vaccines are mandated to enter public schools and universities. On the national level, the military for years has required vaccines and vaccines have been required for American citizens to travel to certain countries.
What may be at issue is whether a president can unilaterally impose vaccine mandates. The mandate on the private companies is being done under authority the executive branch of government has to impose rules and regulations to ensure worker safety.
“President Biden’s unconstitutional federal vaccine mandates are an extreme abuse of power that puts Americans’ livelihoods in the crosshairs,” Wicker said. “In addition, the mandate threatens to wreck the economy.
“A large percentage of American workers will simply leave the workforce rather than be told what to do by the federal government. This legislation would overturn the president’s mandate on private employers and protect millions of hardworking Americans from an intrusion on their personal liberty.”
The challenge Wicker referenced is being done under the Congressional Review Act, which requires federal agencies to submit their regulations to Congress for oversight. The act allows Congress to vote to repeal any regulation it opposes by a simple majority vote. But before that repeal can go into effect, it must be signed by the president. If the president vetoes the act of Congress, it takes a two-third vote of both chambers to override the veto.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Congressional Review Act has been successfully used 17 times – 16 of those during the administration of President Donald Trump to overturn rules enacted during the tenure of Barack Obama.
On the state level, Rep. Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville, has called on Gov. Tate Reeves to call a special session “to fight the Biden administration’s unconstitutional federal vaccine mandates and their plans to spy on American bank accounts.
“It may be a futile effort, but we must do everything we can to resist that which threatens freedom, liberty, and the Constitution.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that all children ages 5-11 get a low-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky issued the recommendation on Tuesday, just hours after the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices supported the use of the pediatric vaccine in a unanimous vote.
“Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19,” Walensky said. “We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a COVID-19 vaccine. As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated.”
The pediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine is one-third the adult dose, but is still given in two doses, three weeks apart like the adult formulation. Pfizer says the lower dosage was chosen to minimize side effects and many hope this will assuage skeptical parents.
Though this age group is now eligible to receive the shots, they won’t be widely available in Mississippi until next week at the earliest. On Sunday, 16 CVS pharmacies across the state will begin providing vaccinations for this age group.
The Mississippi Department of Health pre-ordered 50,000 doses of the pediatric vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration approved it under an emergency use authorization on Oct. 29. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said that these doses and any further shipments will be distributed equitably to local partners and county health departments.
“I think that there’s going to be broad availability for these vaccines for the parents that are interested in going ahead and getting their kids vaccinated right out of the gate,” Byers said.
The federal government is shipping 15 million doses of the pediatric vaccine across the county this week, and President Joe Biden said that enough doses have been purchased to fully vaccinate every child in America.
To date, 72,103 children ages 5-17 in Mississippi have contracted COVID-19 and six have died. Nationally, 1,997,660 children ages 5-11 have contracted COVID-19; 8,300 have been hospitalized and 172 have died, per CDC data.
Rick and Tyler discuss all the latest developments in Mississippi’s high school and college football scene, as well as the Braves in the MLB World Series and the New Orleans Saints’ huge win over Tom Brady and the Bucs.
When school lets out for the day, Operation Shoestring students are excited to get to Project Rise for reading circles, playtime, and homework help in addition to STEM clubs and arts-centered experiences. Based on his experiences in the Project Rise afterschool program, third-grader Tylen now can say that “doing math is fun for me. I love rounding numbers and seeing the patterns.” But Project Rise isn’t just a fun place for kids to work on academic essentials. It’s also a pathway to address the education gaps and emotional trauma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted low-income children of color from communities like the ones Operation Shoestring serves.
Founded in 1968 in response to the struggles of the civil rights era, Operation Shoestring was born out of a desire by faith-based leaders to put their faith into action by uplifting children and families in the central Jackson community, especially in the areas of education, health, and economic self-sufficiency. Ever since then, they’ve provided year-round academic, social, and emotional support to children and families in these neighborhoods with the goal of empowering families to live self-determined, healthy, hopeful lives. Part of that work is Shoestring’s annual Conversation about Community event which will take place this year as a short series exploring what it will take to create a community that really values its children, and what we are all willing to do, individually and collectively, to make that happen.
The Conversation about Community’s purpose is to encourage Metro-Jackson residents to commit and recommit to creating an equitable community. Through a compelling and sometimes challenging conversation series, Operation Shoestring hopes to open up the dialogue about the state of children in the Metro-Jackson area. “All of Jackson’s children need supportive, nurturing, and joy-filled experiences from birth to adulthood in order to reach their full potential and for our community to thrive. The question is what are we willing to do individually and as a community to make that happen,” asks Robert Langford, Shoestring’s executive director.
By improving the lives of kids in their community, Operation Shoestring aims to improve all of Jacksonians’ lives and thus build a better city. The premiere of the new Conversation about Community web series on November 3rd features a roundtable discussion moderated by Mississippi Today managing editor Kayleigh Skinner and with panelists Attorney Letita Johnson (JPS parent and board trustee), Dr. Michelle Owens (OB/GYN and faculty member, UMMC) and the Rev. Chuck Poole (senior pastor, Northminster Baptist Church).
In the series, community leaders will share their own ideas and experiences surrounding what a community that truly values children looks like and the barriers preventing our own city from reaching that goal. Operation Shoestring hopes that viewers will come away from the series with a clearer understanding of what it means to affirm and empower all children within their city and to also have tangible action steps to make this idea a reality. For example, panel participant Dr. Michelle Owens believes that “taking intentional steps like offering encouragement to a young person, talking to our friends about offering encouragement to young people, and challenging ourselves to reach out to people who may be different than us and letting them know they have value too” is a way to create a Jackson where all kids can thrive. Operation Shoestring and so many of our community members agree: it will take all of us to reach a day where all children are affirmed and supported.
Operation Shoestring knows that supporting all of Jackson’s children means uplifting their families too. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, most of Shoestring’s families have reported experiencing higher levels of stress and increased feelings of isolation. That was also the case with Shoestring parent Shalonda Hannah. She and her son both felt increasingly alone as the months dragged on. For Hannah, the parent programs Operation Shoestring offered were a lifesaver. She said at the time that “being able to come out and be around other women, different age groups, different home styles, different lifestyles, this is a piece of heaven for me. It honestly is my safe space.”
If every parent in Jackson can access safe spaces like Hannah can, Jackson can become what its many citizens believe it could one day be: a place where all families can thrive. As another Shoestring parent, Melishia Grayson-Brooks, says of our program: “For the most part, Jackson is a working-class city. School hours are not conducive to hours for working-class folks. If your kid is able to go to a program where they are being cared for, given snacks, and provided homework help, then it allows you to not struggle with having your kid at home by themselves.” Afterschool helps families, which helps their workplaces, employers, and employees, and which then helps everyone in our city have their afternoons and evenings run a little more smoothly. “I think afterschool is something that’s needed in our city. It’s something that should be accessible for everybody. It’s a natural response to the needs of the community,” observes Melishia. Operation Shoestring, and many others, believe that honest conversations focused on what it will take to meet the needs of our community’s children are the first step to achieving that goal.
Find out more about what participants on the 2021 Conversation about Community panel think about children and their potential for success in our city by going to operationshoestring.org/cac and visiting our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
Gov. Tate Reeves, in a blistering social media post, said on Tuesday he and Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch expect to file a lawsuit later this week challenging the vaccine mandate being imposed on certain businesses by President Joe Biden.
Reeves said the federal mandates “threaten every Mississippian’s individual liberties. They are nothing short of tyranny.”
Biden had said in September he intended to impose vaccine mandates on federal agencies, businesses with federal contracts and companies with more than 100 employees.
The Biden administration released guidelines for federal contractors on Monday. The guidelines allow companies to make exceptions to the mandate for religious convictions and for those who might not take the vaccine because of health issues.
“Although the federal government has not followed through on a single threat, many institutions across the country have acted rashly out of fear of losing their federal funds,” Reeves said, apparently referring to the religious and health exceptions. “They should be reminded that the state of Mississippi will not be in the business of subsidizing or supporting institutions that fail to go out of their way to respect at least these basis human rights.”
Reeves continued: “Every Mississippi business, university and hospital should bend over backwards to accommodate and presume good will.”
Guidelines for private companies employing more than 100 people are expected later this week. That mandate will be based on provisions of law giving the federal government the authority to impose regulations to ensure worker safety.
To date, COVID-19 has killed 10,129 Mississippians, giving the state the highest death rate in the nation. Mississippi has one of the lowest vaccination rates in America, ranking 47th, though vaccines are free and widely available.
Earlier this summer Reeves said he did not believe governmental institutions could impose vaccine mandates. When it was pointed out to him that the state of Mississippi imposes vaccine mandates to enter public schools and universities, he refused to say whether he wanted to eliminate those. He later said he did not believe such mandates should be issued by executive order.
The courts in the past have upheld vaccine mandates, though those involved state and local governmental mandates.
Fitch, in her second year in office, has a history of filing lawsuits on national issues. Earlier this year she joined litigation trying to disenfranchise millions of voters in key battleground states in an effort to reverse the outcome of the presidential election. That lawsuit was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. She is currently involved in a lawsuit trying to reverse the constitutional right to an abortion.
