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Last month, bus driver and sixth grade special education teacher Chris Nichols received a bonus for helping his school improve a letter grade. The $1,320 stipend came from the School Recognition Program, which provides a financial reward for teachers and staff.

For Nichols, who teaches in the Itawamba County School District, this extra cash also caused some guilt. Though he was happy to have it, his colleagues who are teacher aides and assistants weren’t eligible for the funds even though they “work just as hard” as teachers, he said. The program’s guidelines allow only “certified staff” to receive an award.

“These people are even more underpaid than our teachers, barely making over $1,000 a month and they’re working 40 hours a week,” Nichols said. “So seeing those test results (rise), I feel like those workers should get credit when it comes time to get that money. It goes beyond what (students) receive from the teacher in the classroom.”

Nichols’ concerns echo criticism from school officials, teachers, education advocates and lawmakers about the controversial program, which provides financial rewards for educators in school districts with an A rating or districts that move up a letter grade year over year. The question of equity in the program is compounded by a new complication caused by the coronavirus: Is it fair to reward districts based on letter grades that are not up to date?

When schools closed in March 2020, the Mississippi State Board of Education canceled state testing. This meant that there were no test results to base that year’s accountability ratings. The state board allowed districts to retain their rating from the previous year (2018-19), which creates a problem for lawmakers as they determine how to handle the School Recognition Program without new accountability ratings.

This is not going to change any time soon. This month, the state board voted to allow schools and districts to suspend the assignment of letter grades, which measure school and district performance, for the 2020-21 year.

A December 2020 report conducted by the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) committee warned lawmakers that they do not have up-to-date information to make funding decisions. The committee’s recommendations included that the Legislature should require the Mississippi Department of Education to enforce the program’s rules and clarify who exactly is eligible to receive these monies, among other things.

While the 2021 legislative session is currently underway, legislators are unsure if they’re going to make any changes or continue to fund the merit-pay program.

Senate Education Chair Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, said “a placeholder” bill was filed in case legislators opted to make any changes to the law “especially in light of the PEER committee report.” He said that bill could be used to enact a plan to award good teachers in bad districts, though he gave no details. He did seem aware of the language in the law saying a plan should be developed.

When asked if the Legislature might decide not to fund the program in light of no new accountability data, he said, “Everything is on the table.”

House Education Chair Richard Bennett said he and the committee are looking at PEER recommendations, and they are trying to figure out how to deal with the accountability and COVID-19 issue. He said he knows there’s a problem with fairness with accountability being grandfathered.

“We are trying to work with the governor’s office, trying to come up with a way to do it this year. We don’t want it to go away, but because we don’t have the accountability – we’re trying to figure out what to do,” said Bennett, a Republican from Long Beach. “We want to do something, and we definitely want to save the program. It might be possible we give everybody a one-time bonus, if the money’s there. We don’t know yet.”

Bennett said because of COVID-19, the House leadership is trying to limit legislation and its time at the Capitol. This might make it difficult to do an overhaul of the program this year, he said, in part because lawmakers are limited in time on the floor.

“I don’t want to take up something too controversial because it wouldn’t be fair not to give everyone a chance to debate the issues,” Bennett said. “We’re going to do the least amount of things we can with legislation this year so we can get out of here.”

DeBar, Bennett and two other Republican lawmakers each filed bills this year to bring the program forward for possible amendments.

A spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Education said the department will follow the direction of the Legislature.

Accountability ratings aside, educators and advocates have other issues with the program.

Erica Jones, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators, said she is not a “big fan” of the program and feels it’s flawed. She said it doesn’t help with teacher retention. She proposed using the money set aside for the program instead be used to give an “adequate pay raise” to educators to help attract and retain teachers.

“Some of our educators would never receive (the stipend) based on specialty and region,” Jones said. “Before COVID, we were facing a teacher shortage, now with COVID, it’s even harder for us to locate educators in the state.”

In July 2020, Mississippi Today published a story outlining issues with the merit pay program. While many teachers Mississippi Today spoke with said they were grateful for the money, critics say it causes confusion and in some cases actually decreases morale for educators.

The program’s intent to incentivize teachers based on accountability ratings has caused problems, including infighting at the district level about how the money is distributed and who is eligible to receive the funds. Last year the Mississippi Department of Education started to require that schools give this money out equally, though Mississippi Today’s analysis found not all schools seem to be doing this.

It isn’t uncommon for eligible staff to give some of their money to colleagues who did not receive anything. Wanda Quon, principal of Pecan Park Elementary, an A-rated school in the Jackson Public School District, said teachers did this in her school.

“This was something done on their own. They decided together that, ‘Hey, we’re not in this alone,’” Quon said, referring to certified staff who shared the money they received with teacher aides and assistants because “a big part of our school family” wasn’t eligible for the funds.

Other teachers say the students are doing the work, so they should be rewarded, too. Since there are no rules in the law about how teachers should spend the money once they receive it, North Forrest High School U.S. History teacher Laura Holifield and several colleagues took the merit pay they received and created a scholarship for seniors to help with college expenses.

“If it weren’t for the kids, we wouldn’t have gotten (the money) in the first place,” she said.

Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic has altered the way teachers deliver education to students, making it difficult to measure and reward teachers for student performance. Some teachers still struggle to reach and teach kids, said Nichols, the teacher and bus driver in Itawamba County. This makes it harder to measure accountability and determine how much money schools should get from the program, he said.

“You still had teachers that were working hours and hours and hours to try to get instruction out there virtually any way they could,” Nichols said. “Teachers are really trying to make a difference in trying to reach their kids. They don’t need a letter rating hung over their heads. The teachers are more worried about what I can do to really help my kids today.”

It takes more than certified staff to “coordinate that school improvement effort,” said Harrison Michael, principal of Callaway High School. It takes building trust and relationships “inside and outside those four walls” with community, parents, and school staff. His school improved from a D to C.

So, how do you choose what teachers should or shouldn’t be rewarded?

Cathryn Warren, an elementary school teacher in Lamar County School District, said it’s challenging because of a number of factors at play in meeting standards like student population and resources.

“A lot of the time on these high stakes tests, it isn’t necessarily the content of the test. It more so has to do with the student’s ability to take a test, which is even more frustrating,” she said. I know great, phenomenal teachers. (For) districts that may be lower income, or (if) the population is completely different … I don’t think you should disqualify them for their efforts.”

School administrators and teachers said this stems from not giving “specific guidance” on who’s included and who’s not. Jackson Public Schools Chief of Finance Sharolyn Miller said it becomes cumbersome when schools divvy money to their discretion. For example, certain schools may include nurses in eligible staff whereas another school doesn’t, she said.

“We just need to know for sure, what is a certified person? There are a lot of people who hold a license. They will call me and say,’I have to have a license for my job … so does that mean I’m a certified person?’,” Miller said. “I think the MDE heard the cries of staff and school school districts that said define it, but the law needs to be changed to reflect that.”

Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison contributed to this report.

The post Will the School Recognition Program see more accountability this year? ‘Everything’s on the the table.’ appeared first on Mississippi Today.

They call Bruce Arians, head coach of the Super Bowl Tampa Bay Bucs, the “quarterback whisperer” because of his influence on the careers of such superstars as Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer, among many others.

Not to mention, Arians now coaches a guy named Tom Brady.

Turns out, Arians may have done his best whispering to a quarterback named Dave Marler at Mississippi State way back in 1978.

Marler, from Forest, transferred to Mississippi State from Mississippi College after his sophomore season. He walked on, made the team as a placekicker and earned a scholarship as State’s kicker for the 1977 season under head coach Bob Tyler.

“The only passes I threw were on the sidelines, when I wasn’t practicing kicking,” Marler said Tuesday by phone from his home in Hamilton, Ontario. “I was a kicker, period.”

Turns out, Marler’s holder was Breck Tyler, the coach’s son, who was Marler’s receiver on the sidelines. “Breck was telling his dad that the best passer on the team was over on the sidelines.”

Tyler hired Arians, a former Virginia Tech quarterback, in the off-season for Arians’ first full-time college coaching job. Breck Tyler lobbied Arians on Marler’s behalf, again telling the new quarterbacks coach that Marler could really, really throw the football. At the time, Marler was listed No. 7 of seven State quarterbacks.

Arians was intrigued. He called Marler onto the practice field during a big spring scrimmage. “Let’s see what you got,” he said. Marler led the second team offense on two long touchdown drives against the No. 1 defense. So, Arians took Marler and ran with him. Actually, he passed with him.

State football hero Rockey Felker was on that State coaching staff. “Bruce had a gift,” Felker said Tuesday. “He was one of the best coaches I have ever been around. His knowledge of the passing game back then was way ahead of the time. Plus, he really knew how to motivate people. He knew when to cuss you out and he would, but he knew when to put his arm around you. He had a real knack for all that. Clearly, he still does.”

Long story made short: Marler broke State and SEC passing records and became first team All-Southeastern Conference in his only season as a Division I quarterback. Marler still marvels at memories from 1978.

“What’s amazing to me thinking back on it was that Bruce and I were nearly the same age,” Marler said. “He was just three years older than I was. He had been a quarterback, he thought like a quarterback. He understood what a quarterback goes through. He tries to take all the stress and clutter out of a quarterback’s mind. And that’s what he does. If you look back at his career and the quarterbacks he’s coached, most of them had some of the best years of their careers when they played for him.”

A glance at Arians’ career indicates just that. It also indicates that it takes more than a glance to even begin to comprehend the odyssey that has been Arians’ career. He has had two stops at State, two more at Alabama. His first head coaching job was at Temple. In the NFL, he has had stops in Kansas City, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis again, Arizona and Tampa Bay.

He worked for Tyler and Emory Bellard in his first stop at State. He was part of the coaching staff on the 1980 team that beat No. 1 Alabama and Bear Bryant 6-3. The following off-season, he left State for Bama and Bryant. I covered that State team as a beat, and I remember asking him why he left. “I could not tell that man, ‘No,’” he said, not needing to say what man he was talking about.

Perhaps Marler’s best memory of his one year with Arians came against Alabama and that man. As was so often the case then and now, that Alabama team would go on to win a national championship. It featured Jeff Rutledge at quarterback, Tony Nathan at running back, Marty Lyons in the defensive line, Barry Krauss at linebacker.

State coaches, including Arians, were worried about protecting Marler against Bama’s fierce pass rush. Arians had an idea: Put Marler in the shotgun, a full eight yards behind the line of scrimmage to buy him more time. That strategy became even more important when Marler pulled a thigh muscle kicking in pre-game warmups.

“I couldn’t move more than two or three yards without excruciating pain,” Marler said. “I was basically a stationary quarterback.”

Arians, with Bob Tyler’s blessing, scrapped the playbook and just put Marler in the shotgun.

“They couldn’t get to me before I had time to throw it,” said Marler, who passed for 429 yards, at that time the most Alabama had ever allowed in a single game. Bama won but the reputations of both Marler and Arians skyrocketed that day.

“We had three running plays out of that formation, about 25 passing plays, plus we just drew some up as it went,” Marler said. “Bruce was amazing. He was up in the press box sending the plays down. We didn’t win, but we sure gave them a game.”

Marler, who played for five seasons in the Canadian Football League, would go on to pass for twice as many yards as any other SEC quarterback that season. The very next season, Arians would coach the wishbone offense under Bellard. A year after that, Arians helped groom freshman quarterback John Bond into a record-breaking running quarterback.

“Just a great coach,” Bond, now the head coach at St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison, said of Arians. “He was just so passionate about teaching, so confident in his own knowledge of the game. He didn’t hold back, either. He let you know what he thought when you did well and when you didn’t. I still use much of what I learned from him in coaching my guys today.”

Arians would return to State for three seasons (1993-95) as offensive coordinator under Jackie Sherrill. They parted ways in 1995.

Said Felker, “The thing about Bruce, you look over his career, and he’s left some jobs on his own and others maybe he didn’t have a choice in the matter. But no matter what, he always landed in a great position.”

And he has usually landed with a great quarterback. Either that, or he has created one.

The post The legend of NFL’s QB whisperer Bruce Arians began at Miss. State appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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The sad specter of the COVID-19 pandemic hung over Tuesday’s State of the State speech from Gov. Tate Reeves.

The speech was held outside the Mississippi State Capitol before a limited crowd, including legislators and a few others. The event is normally held inside the House of Representatives chamber, where legislators and other state elected officials crowd elbow-to-elbow to hear the annual address.

Typically, governors use the State of the State address to announce ranging new policy initiatives. Reeves on Tuesday delivered a relatively short speech and avoided any new policy specifics.

The theme of Reeves’ speech was the state’s resiliency and the need to recover strongly.

“We have taken every hit that can be thrown,” Reeves said. “We’ve been tested by every force of nature, disease and human frailty. It is already a miracle that our state is still standing, but we are not simply standing. We are marching forward.”

Mississippi Today reporters listened to Reeves’ speech and fact-checked and contextualized key points the governor made.

EDUCATION

Reeves: “I support a teacher pay raise. I know the Senate has already passed the Lieutenant Governor’s plan, and I know that the Speaker and the House have always been supportive of raises for teachers. I’ll be eager to sign any raise that the legislature can send me. Our teachers have earned it. It’s the right way to invest.”

Fact check: Reeves has said before he would sign a pay raise bill if it crossed his desk. Though he campaigned in 2019 on a promise to provide Mississippi teachers with a $4,300 pay raise over four years, he did not advocate for or mention a raise in the budget recommendation he sent lawmakers in November 2020.

Senate Bill 2001 recently passed out of the Senate and now awaits action in the House. It would provide a $1,000 raise for most public school teachers, and a $1,110 raise for teachers with zero to three years experience with a bachelor’s degree, bringing their starting pay to $37,000. This is still below the Southeastern regional average of $38,420 and national average of $40,154. A study by the National Education Association of starting teacher salaries for 2018-2019 ranked Mississippi’s pay 46th among states. If it passes, the raise would cost taxpayers about $51 million a year.

Reeves: “That mission really begins years sooner, with a solid education. Mississippi has made incredible strides — number one in the nation in improvements.” 

Fact check: It’s unclear what specific improvements the governor is referencing here. In 2019, Mississippi received high praise for being the only state in the country to improve reading scores on a nationally administered exam, but the coronavirus pandemic caused state testing to be cancelled in spring 2020, meaning last year there was no way for schools and districts to receive new accountability ratings which measure student performance.

COVID-19

Reeves: “Last weekend, we celebrated 100,000 vaccines delivered. That took us about six weeks. We’ve done another 100,000 vaccinations since then, and as we speak we are likely delivering our 200,000th vaccine! That’s because we refused to accept a slow pace – we went from the worst state in the country at the beginning of the process to operating at peak capacity.”

Fact check: As of Jan. 26, at least 175,417 Mississippians — about 6% of the state’s population – have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health’s database. On the same day, 18,012 Mississippians had received the second dose. 

Officials have said more Mississippians have likely received the vaccine than is reflected in the database because of reporting lags. It is possible that Mississippi delivered its 200,000 dose on Tuesday, but it’s unlikely a 200,000th Mississippian received a first dose on Tuesday.

Reeves: “We have to defeat (COVID-19) because Mississippians are done. We’re done burying loved ones who were lost to this virus. We’re done with stressed hospitals. We’re done with the fearful talk of lockdowns and shutdowns.”

Fact check: Mississippi is on pace to set a record death total from COVID-19 in the month of January. As of Jan. 26, at least 948 Mississippians have died after contracting the virus in the month of January alone — by far the highest monthly death total since the pandemic began. The state’s total number of COVID-related deaths is 5,852.

On the day Reeves delivered the speech, the state reported 75 deaths — one of the highest single day totals on record.

ECONOMY AND JOBS

Reeves: “Despite the once in a century pandemic, Mississippi’s economy actually grew year over year. Think about that.”

Fact check: The governor apparently was referencing the fact that there was more capital investment in the state from businesses in 2020 than in 2019. Still, it is doubtful the state’s gross domestic product grew year over year. Final numbers for the state’s gross domestic product (total value of goods produced and services provided) have not been released by federal or state officials.

Projections from the state’s University Research Center was for the GDP to contract 4.3% year over year. But based on the numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Mississippi’s third quarter GDP growth was the 10th best in the nation at 39.5% — but still 2.6% below state’s GDP for the fourth quarter of 2019. Overall, though, the GDP bounced back strong nationally and in the state after a dismal second quarter when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit. In the second quarter, the nation’s economy contracted at a 31.7% rate compared to 20.9% for the state. For the most part, the more populous states had greater economic declines and greater jobs loss.

Mississippi lost a smaller percentage of its jobs during the year than did the nation as a whole.

But in the past four years, including 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state’s GDP has grown 0.4% compared to the national growth rate of 0.8%, and the state has actually lost a greater percentage of jobs than the nation as a whole.

Reeves: “We were the third-best state in the country for job recovery (in 2020).”

Fact check: The governor was citing an Empower Mississippi report, analyzing Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers for non-farm jobs from February through November of 2020.

Mississippi did appear to fare better than most in terms of jobs lost during this period of the pandemic, with the Magnolia State losing a little more than 28,000 jobs. According to a University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Public Policy analysis of BLS statistics for the period, Mississippi was tied with Alabama for third in terms of lowest percentage of loss of jobs for the period, at -2.4%. It also noted that Mississippi from October to November added 3,800 jobs. Alabama, which had lost nearly 50,000 jobs for the period, added 6,600 jobs from October to November.

According to a Mississippi Today analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Mississippi ranked third for the smallest percentage of jobs lost, just 1.4 percent, between December 2019 and December 2020. The state lost 16,400 jobs over the year.

Reeves: “Mississippi… had more tourism spending return than any other state in the country – we were number one!” 

Fact check: Reeves’ office said he was citing a December report from the U.S. Travel Association. It shows that year-over-year, Mississippi’s percentage loss of weekly travel spending was in the teens — lower than other states – equaling about $30 million less a week spent by tourists here compared to last year.

But Mississippi’s tourism industry did take a hit in the pandemic. Fiscal year 2020, which began in July, saw about 20 million visitors spending $5.5 billion, compared to fiscal 2019 with nearly 25 million visitors spending $6.6 billion. From February through August, Mississippi saw a decline of 6.4% in leisure and hospitality jobs. But other states were hit far worse, including Hawaii, at nearly 53% and Louisiana at 20%.

Reeves: “… Mississippians don’t want welfare. They want to work.”

Fact check: Granted, Mississippians do want to work. But the state also is one of the poorest in the nation and one of the nation’s most dependent on federal spending and on “welfare programs.”

Mississippi is the fourth most dependent on total federal spending, according to the Tax Foundation, with 43.3% of its state revenue provided by the federal government. In addition, Mississippi has the fourth-highest number (14,825 per 100,000 population) of its residents on welfare programs such as Temporary Aid For Dependent Children, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs and others.

The post Fact check: Gov. Tate Reeves’ 2021 State of the State address appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Earlier this month, on the heels of a semester that saw thousands of students, faculty and campus workers test positive for COVID-19, Mississippi colleges and universities reopened for spring. As students returned to their dorms, self-reported cases in college towns across the state jumped. 

With the spring semester getting into gear, Mississippi Today would like to hear your thoughts on how your school is handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Are you a student trying to navigate studying from home? A professor struggling to choose between teaching in-person and protecting your health? A campus worker who’s been laid off? We want to hear how the pandemic is affecting your semester. Share your thoughts with us by filling out the form below.

Mississippi Today wants to know where our readers stand on this issue. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out the below survey:

The post Share your thoughts: How is your college handling COVID-19? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Editor’s note: Gov. Tate Reeves delivered his annual State of the State address on Jan. 26, 2021. Afterwards, Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville provided the Mississippi Democratic legislative response. Below is a transcript of his speech.

Good afternoon. My name is Derrick T. Simmons. It is my great honor to represent the Mississippi Delta in the Mississippi Senate and I am delighted to speak to you tonight.

The last twelve months have been a time of significant change in Mississippi and the world. It was this time last year that Americans first learned of a virus that was perplexing doctors and scientists in Asia. Little did we know that COVID-19 would come to effect every aspect of life the world over.

As we talk tonight, nearly 6,000 Mississippians have died because of COVID-19 and more than a quarter million Mississippians have contracted the virus in the past year. This human loss has reverberated through every corner of our society. We have lost beloved family members, community leaders, pastors, teachers, health care workers, and colleagues. If you are mourning the loss of an irreplaceable friend or praying for the recovery of one of the hundreds of Mississippians receiving treatment in our hospitals right now, you are not alone.

To our healthcare workers— those doctors, nurses, and staff who have applied every ounce of your creativity and determination in treating us, we thank you. With your work spaces filled to capacity and at a great personal risk, you have come in to work every day. We will never forget your commitment to our communities.

With vaccines making their way to Mississippi, there is light at the end of the tunnel. When Mississippians are vaccinated, we will turn the corner. Of course, demand is high and after a year of keeping our guards up, patience is running thin. But we’ve come too far to give up now. New vaccine appointments are opening up each week. To see if you are eligible to receive a vaccine and to schedule your appointment, check with the Mississippi Department of Health by calling 1-866-458-4948 or visiting msdh.ms.gov.

The pandemic has also had a devastating impact on our work force, small businesses, and local governments. Tens of thousands of Mississippians have been laid off during the pandemic. These historic job losses have drained our state’s unemployment trust fund and left families struggling to buy groceries and other basic necessities. We must provide support to individuals who have found themselves out of work through no fault of their own.

We must also make sure that the hundreds of millions of dollars appropriated to small business relief finds its way to Mississippi’s main streets. If we are being honest, COVID small business dollars have moved too slowly and the Back to Business grant program has been embarrassingly inefficient. People struggling to keep their businesses open and take care of their employees need help now. Democrats in the legislature know that this economic crisis is real and stand ready to fight for additional aid.

Despite these enormous challenges, Mississippians have already begun to turn their eyes toward a brighter future. On Nov. 3, nearly 3 out of 4 Mississippians voted to adopt a new state flag that represents all Mississippians. This has been a dream of Democrats in the legislature since Civil Rights hero and former state representative Aaron Henry filed the first bill to change the state flag in 1988. Since that time, Democrats have filed hundreds of bills to give Mississippi a more unifying state symbol. Until 2020, none of those bills made it out of a legislative committee.

While there is plenty of credit to go around to Republicans, Democrats, business leaders, and national athletic associations, Mississippi Democrats know that this change would never have happened if Mississippi’s young people had not stood up to demand change. We are in debt to the teenagers and college students who organized for a new state flag. You have shown us that Mississippi is capable of doing hard and historic things and your creativity and courage in the face of enormous difficulty has inspired us all.

Mississippi’s young people know that while a new state flag is a powerful and necessary step toward the future, it is only a step. Mississippi must live into the promises it has made to provide a great education to all of its students and a competitive salary for all of its teachers. We are not there yet.

In the words of Mississippi’s “Education Governor” William Winter, “the road out of the poor house, runs past the school house.” We lost Governor Winter late last year but we remain committed to his work. Governor, Mississippi has still not completed construction of the road out of the poor house but Mississippi Democrats have their hard hats on and we’re going to keep following your road map.

If we are going to be a state worthy of our young people, we must also figure out a way to provide health coverage for our citizens. While the modern world has embraced healthcare innovations, Mississippi remains at the bottom in both health insurance coverage and health outcomes. The shortsighted politics of Mississippi Republicans have cost Mississippi billions of dollars and left our hospitals hanging on by a thread. If Governor Reeves will not expand Medicaid, it is past time for him and Republican leaders to come up with an alternative. Identity politics do not pay the hospital bills.

As we inch toward a more hopeful future, we must continue to look out for each other. This means being honest about our successes and our failures. Our politics have become corrosive. This is primarily the cause of politicians who would rather tell you what you want to hear than deal with harsh realities. As legislative Democrats we are recommitting ourselves to the truth. That means we will be honest when we get it wrong and we will make sure to show gratitude when Republicans get it right as they did on the flag vote this summer and the teacher pay raise last week. Because it is really not about us versus them. It is about all of us working together to find solutions to our biggest challenges.

Those of you listening tonight have a part to play as well. We can all look out for each other by continuing to wear a mask and looking for ways to help our most vulnerable neighbors. We can also seek out opportunities to develop relationships with people who are different than us. We have to break out of our information silos to ensure that we’re not simply surrounding ourselves with the information we like. If we commit ourselves to being better neighbors and commit ourselves to the truth, we will force our politicians to be better.

Thank you for listening and thank you for all you are doing to take care of your community. I pray for a better year for you, the people you love, and for this state we love.

The post State of the State: Mississippi Democratic legislative response appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Editor’s note: Gov. Tate Reeves delivered his annual State of the State address on Jan. 26, 2021. Below is a transcript of his speech.

Thank you, Lieutenant Governor Hosemann and Speaker Gunn. 

To members of the legislature and other public servants who would normally be here, I wish that we could be together today. We all know that normal has not been in the cards in 2020 or 2021 so far. But I know that you will be able to thoughtfully carry out your work even despite the challenges before us. I’m grateful for your service and I’m even more grateful for your friendship.

I’m very proud to be joined by my beautiful wife, who has been the steady hand I’ve needed during this tumultuous year. Elee, thank you for being a friend, a great mom to our daughters, and a true partner in this work.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to say that our state is unconquerable. We have taken every hit that can be thrown. We’ve been tested by every force of nature, disease, and human frailty. It is already a miracle that our state is still standing, but we are not simply standing. We are marching forward. 

In this year of crisis and confusion, there has been a solid foundation. It is the Mississippi spirit that binds all of us together. This is not a state of people who have cowered in the face of adversity. 

We’ve got grit, and pride, and faith. We know how to overcome our differences and work together. We know how to do hard things. We know how to treat one another. 

As we saw on Easter Sunday, this is a state of people who won’t let a tornado leave the ground before arriving with chainsaws to clear their neighbors’ land. As we saw after Zeta, it is a state of people who won’t let the waves of a hurricane rush back to the sea before ensuring their neighbor has food and warmth. We are a state of people who step up, time and again, and have exceeded all expectations this year. 

Tennessee Williams was a world-renowned playwright, and a son of Lowndes County, Mississippi. He once wrote that, “The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.” What he meant was that decency, kindness, empathy, and goodness always win, even when facing hardened opposition. That has happened here, in our state, in our time. We’ve seen courage and compassion beat the forces of chaos and destruction in Mississippi. The victory isn’t final, but we can see it here every day.

That victory is visible in the long hours of nurses, teachers, and first responders. It is visible in the lives saved by ordinary heroes administering care – physical, emotional, and spiritual – on a daily basis in our state. 

It is because of those people that Mississippi was able to move forward when the rest of the world came to a halt. In Mississippi, we never stopped working. We never shut down our farms and we never shut down our factories. What we did slow down for safety, we opened up as quickly and as widely as we possibly could. 

We’ve been cautious, never panicked. We’ve been safe, but not stubborn. Life cannot be lived in perpetual idleness and isolation. We realized that, and we’ve adapted our plans throughout the year – responding swiftly when the spread was most severe and opening up whenever it is possible. 

And that has made a tremendous difference. Despite the once in a century pandemic, Mississippi’s economy actually grew year over year. Think about that. We were the third-best state in the country for job recovery. We had more tourism spending return than any other state in the country – we were number one!

That’s not just because of an open economy. It’s because Mississippians don’t want welfare, they want to work. They recognize the pride and dignity that comes with it, and they’ve been eager to return when given the opportunity. 

It is also why, as we look forward, we cannot be content with where we are. We can never simply say “that’s good enough.” 

I don’t want to compete with the Mississippi of the last fifty years. I don’t want to compete with Mississippi of the last decade. I don’t want to compete with Mississippi of last year. I want to compete with the best – Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas. Because I know we can compete, and I know we can win. 

We can get in the ring with anybody, and we can leave with more jobs and higher wages. Mississippians can bring more skill and dedication to any project than anyone else, anywhere in the world. We work harder than anyone. Why shouldn’t we get the best jobs, the best expansions, and best headquarters? I believe we can. And as Mississippi’s own, the great Dizzy Dean, once said: “If you can do it, it ain’t braggin’.”

This is a time of global upheaval, uncertainty, and chaos. And it is in those times that fortunes are made. We need to make Mississippi’s fortune today – this is the moment in our history to do it. We’ve chosen a new banner, we’ve improved our education, and we’ve shown the world that we’re open for business. Now we need to go out and win high-paying jobs for the people of our state. 

I believe that in order to fully capture the potential of this historic moment, we must think big. We need a bold move. This is the time for an action that will turn heads all across the country and get money and people flowing in. And I believe that move is the elimination of the income tax. It is a reward for our hard workers, and an incentive for others to invest here, to grow here, and to live here. 

We can transform our economy. We can do it in a smart way, recognizing that it will take a few years to phase in. But we can change a generation of lives here, by attracting the jobs and wages we deserve. I am ready to work with legislators on this, and I know that there is an appetite for this type of boldness.

There are still many who say that we can’t lower taxes because it puts new government spending at risk. And I understand that it is often good politics to act like something from the government is a gift. The far left has played that tune for generations. 

But we have to be clear: the government does not have anything that it does not first take from a taxpayer. And the people of this state understand that. We have to respect the workers of Mississippi enough to recognize when we can show restraint and stop taking from them. Allow you to spend your money that you make, and it will grow our economy beyond belief.

I also believe we need to sharpen one particular tool to get our economy rolling – our state’s workforce development. We don’t need Mississippians to be stuck in low-paying jobs. We want them to embark on careers with good pay and freedom. The best way to accomplish that is to help lift young Mississippians up – give them access to training that puts them in a position to succeed. 

The legislature made great progress in this effort last legislative session. I’m very grateful for their work. Now, I’m calling on the legislature to continue their wise investments in this mission. It is essential. It is how we will succeed. It is how we will lift people out of poverty and into proud work. I know they share that goal.

That mission really begins years sooner, with a solid education. Mississippi has made incredible strides – number one in the nation in improvements. Now we need to, once again, set our sights even higher. This is not good enough, we can be better.

This year, in spite of tremendous pressure, we recognized that education is essential. It cannot be accomplished at scale without the incredible efforts of in-person educators. It seems obvious in hindsight, but there were tremendous headwinds. I know that we made the right decision to open our schools and allow our children and parents access to a true education. 

We need to keep working. We need to keep fighting for every child to have access to the education that they deserve. We need to ensure that parents have the choice to save their child from a district that lets them down. And we need to reward our teachers for the exceptional, life-changing work that they do. 

I support a teacher pay raise. I know the Senate has already passed the Lieutenant Governor’s plan, and I know that the Speaker and the House have always been supportive of raises for teachers. I’ll be eager to sign any raise that the legislature can send me. Our teachers have earned it. It’s the right way to invest.

There’s a lot more policy and politics to be hashed out in the coming year. Some of it is even important. But I know the people of Mississippi have heard a lot from me over the last year, so I want to keep this address on point. I want the people of Mississippi to know my focus for the weeks, months, and year ahead:

First, we need to crush this virus and get back to our way of life. The virus is still here, and it cannot be solved by ignoring it. We have to defeat it, because Mississippians are done. We’re done burying loved ones who were lost to this virus. We’re done with stressed hospitals. We’re done with the fearful talk of lockdowns and shutdowns. We’re ready for community again. 

We all want schools to flourish with children learning and playing carefree. We want businesses thriving, with crowds of customers joined together. We want to let down the constant guard, and be joyful together. We want to be unafraid of fellowship with our friends and our neighbors. 

It is one thing to eliminate government restrictions. Most of those went away last summer. It is another to be truly free from fear, and to have no more anxiety when we come together. 

It will be a great day when we can gather in stadiums, churches, restaurants and bars –shoulder to shoulder – without the quiet fear of COVID. When you can celebrate with strangers after a touchdown, sing loudly at a concert not muffled by a mask, and just live life without fear. True camaraderie. That day is coming. It’s coming sooner than we think. There is one more hurdle to that: the rapid distribution of the Coronavirus vaccine. 

I reject the false narrative that is being pushed by some which says this is our new normal. That even after vaccination, we need to continue to hide away and live in perpetual isolation and fear. That’s just wrong. 

This is it. This is our moment. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and Mississippi is sprinting towards it. Last weekend, we celebrated 100,000 vaccines delivered. That took us about six weeks. We’ve done another 100,000 vaccinations since then, and as we speak we are likely delivering our 200,000th vaccine! That’s because we refused to accept a slow pace – we went from the worst state in the country at the beginning of the process to operating at peak capacity.

I promise that we will smash every roadblock. We will get this done as safely and quickly as we possibly can, and allow people to protect themselves from the virus. It is my most immediate priority, and I assure you it has my full attention.

I also have a personal goal. It’s one that I know I will fall short of, but I’m still aiming at it daily. It is to cultivate more empathy. It’s been in short supply in this world for some time now. That’s been on display across our nation, too. And too often that leads us to see one another as enemies. It leads to corrosion in trust. We as a people cannot allow cruelty to win. We must rise above. We must love our neighbors as ourselves.  

We’ll always have spirited debate and disagreement. You can fight for what you believe in, while honoring the man or woman on the other side. Above all we have to understand that every Mississippian – every American – is on the same team. We all want to be treated with grace. And we’re all made in the image of a perfect God. So, my goal is to act like it. 

For me, that means looking out for those who need extra help. It means being honest with people – admitting what I don’t know and working to be better. It means diligently working to make Mississippi an even more welcoming, prosperous state. 

I’m incredibly lucky that I’m not in it alone. None of us are. We’re surrounded by a legion of fellow Mississippians. People who care about you. People who want you to succeed, because they know we will all rise together. If we can just harness that, we can accomplish anything. 

I know that our state has what it takes to be exceptional. And I know that with God’s continued providence and our unconquerable spirit, together, we can get there. 

May God bless you, and may God bless Mississippi.

The post Gov. Tate Reeves’ full 2021 State of the State address appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state’s health officer, cautioned Mississippians that receiving COVID-19 vaccines will “take a little bit of time.”

“It’s unpredictable and limited,” Dobbs said of the 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.”

READ MORE: How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi and other frequently asked questions.

As of Jan. 26, at least 175,417 Mississippians – about 6% of the state’s population – have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health’s database. On the same day, 18,012 Mississippians had received the second dose. Officials have said more Mississippians have likely received the vaccine than is reflected in the database because of reporting lags.

The state’s number of vaccines administered has increased every week since the first vaccine shipments arrived in Mississippi in mid-December. Last week, 62,000 vaccine doses were administered.

Many Mississippians have expressed frustration in recent weeks with slow vaccine rollout. Some have reported having to drive more than three hours to receive a vaccine in one of the state’s drive-thru sites. Others say they are eligible to receive the vaccine but cannot secure an appointment quickly enough before they are booked.

But the state’s health officials say their hands are largely tied as they await vaccine shipments from the federal government.

“It’s not that anybody isn’t doing their part, it’s just that we don’t know what’s coming from week to week until very long into it. It’s hard to plan,” Woodward said.

The federal government – the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – oversees a centralized system to order, distribute and track COVID-19 vaccines. All vaccines are ordered through the CDC.

The Mississippi State Department of Health, which Dobbs oversees, works directly with the CDC to manage the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, sending vaccine to private providers and hospitals throughout the state. The CDC typically gives less than a week’s notice when informing the state how many doses they’ll receive for the next week.

“It’s super challenging for the clinics,” Dobbs said. “I’ve spent hours on the phone with frustrated folks because they need to say, ‘I want to schedule these, how much can I get?’ That’s a perfectly legitimate question, and I understand their frustration better than anyone… I think it’s going to get better going forward.”

Dobbs said that infighting between the HHS and the CDC has affected vaccine rollout.

“I really hope as we go forward that the federal government can cooperate internally,” Dobbs said. “We’ve seen constant struggle between HHS and CDC. It’s like having two parents bickering. We need unity, stability, a good strategic vision. That’s the foundational thing.”

Dobbs has highlighted racial and geographic disparities in vaccine rollout in Mississippi. As of Jan. 26, just 16% of vaccines administered in Mississippi were given to Black Mississippians, who make up 38% of the state’s population.

“Health equity and (the racial disparities) are at the top of our list as we’re going through our next phases of this vaccine plan,” Dobbs said. “We have to remember health equity.”

The post ‘Unpredictable and limited’: Dobbs urges patience with COVID-19 vaccine distribution appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Mississippi Legislature, trying to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus, will meet in what is expected to be a pared down joint session Tuesday afternoon for Gov. Tate Reeves to deliver the annual State of the State speech.

The speech is scheduled to be delivered on the south steps of the state Capitol, but will be moved to the House chamber if there is inclement weather.

Both presiding officers, Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, will be on hand to officiate as well as the House and Senate committee (three from each chamber) to escort the governor to the joint session.

But the State of the State, in the COVID-19 environment, is expected to take place without the pomp and circumstance that normally surrounds the event.

Gunn said on Monday that he knows scant details about the governor’s State of the State address plans.

“I’m told that I need to show up, bang the gavel and introduce the bugler – it is my understanding there will be a bugler,” Gunn said. “I don’t know who all is coming to it … It’s really up to them, the governor’s office, on how they are going to do it.”

“The governor has requested no audience,” Hosemann said.

On Monday afternoon, the Senate approved the House resolution, passed Friday, authorizing the joint session.

The state Constitution simply instructs the governor “from time to time” to provide information to the Legislature on “the state of the government and recommend for consideration such measurers so may be deemed necessary and expedient.” That constitutional mandate has become the more elaborate State of the State speech that is attended by various representatives of state government, not only from the legislative but also from the judicial and executive branches.

Gunn on Monday gaveled the House to order – via Zoom – and presided over a mostly empty chamber. Only two lawmakers, the speaker pro tempore and Rules Committee chairman were present in the chamber that normally holds a boisterous crowd of 122 lawmakers. Beforehand, about 15 lawmakers were in the chamber, but Gunn asked them to leave before gaveling in.

“My request last week was that no one be in the chamber,” Gunn told the handful of legislators who were at their desks. “Obviously, if we let one of you come in here, we’ll have to let all, and then we will lose our social distancing … We are attempting to comply with the request made by Dr. Dobbs (the state health officer).”

Gunn noted after he gaveled out the brief Zoom session that it was strange looking over a mostly empty chamber.

“It was mighty quiet in here, wasn’t it?” Gunn said.

As an aside to the couple of staff present after he closed Monday’s session, he said, “That seemed to go well enough – maybe we need to conduct all our business that way.”

House committee meetings on Monday were likewise held via Zoom, and broadcast on YouTube. Gunn said there were a few “glitches,” such as members not finding the meeting links sent to them, but “For our maiden voyage it was rather smooth.”

“I’ve not heard any word that business was not able to be conducted in the committees,” Gunn said.

But some lawmakers are still questioning the new pandemic protocols and whether business is being properly and fairly conducted.

“With us bypassing all the initial phases of the process – yes I have some concern,” said Rep. Charles Young Jr., D-Meridian. “You don’t have the option of being able to oppose any of the process like you normally would … I think we should have made more accommodations to uphold our process. You can’t just kill the process, but that’s what we are doing.”

The Senate also is conducting committee meetings via Zoom, but members are not being barred from participating in person when the chamber is in full session or when in committee.

Reeves speech will be carried live on multiple outlets, including WMPN public television and via the airwaves and internet by WJTV television in Jackson.

The post Pared down State of State with limited audience set for Tuesday appeared first on Mississippi Today.

READ: Pared down State of State with limited audience set for Tuesday

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