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In his final week in Jackson, Gerald Harris, a political reporter at WJTV, talks with Mississippi Today Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau about covering state politics and why journalism in Mississippi is important as ever.

Listen here:

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READ: Lawmakers will work via internet as COVID-19 spreads at the Capitol

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As Mississippi legislators grapple with how much and whether they can afford to provide a pay raise to teachers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, what occurred in 2000 might be of interest.

Lawmakers that year passed the state’s largest teacher pay increase: a $337 million proposal that was enacted over a six-year period. That pay raise is equivalent to $523.9 million in today’s dollars.

There are some similarities between what happened then and what is going on now.

In the 1999 gubernatorial election, then-Lt. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove campaigned on moving the pay for Mississippi teachers to the Southeastern average. During the 2019 gubernatorial election, both candidates — Democrat Jim Hood and Republican Tate Reeves — promised large pay raises for teachers.

About a month before the November 2019 general election, Reeves, the eventual winner, proposed raising teacher pay $4,300 over a four-year period, costing, he said at the time, a total of $225 million — far less than the 2000 plan, but still a lofty goal.

In 2000, like now, there were events beyond the control of Mississippi’s politicians making it difficult for them to commit to spending such a large amount of money.

Currently, of course, that event is the COVID-19 pandemic. The pay raise that was planned for the year after the 2019 election was scrapped at the onset of the pandemic because of fears over how the coronavirus would impact the Mississippi economy and revenue collections for state government. Legislators are considering a pay raise again this session.

But there also were economic headwinds in 2000. Granted, there was no event nearly as significant or deadly as the pandemic, but there was a sizable recession that might have impacted Mississippi more than any other state. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the exodus of low paying jobs from America to other countries reached a crescendo. Mississippi had more of those jobs per capita than any state in the nation.

The Mississippi economy tanked. Fiscal year 2001 was the first in the state’s modern history where revenue collections were less for that year than the previous year.

At least in part because of the bad economy, legislative leaders in 2000 said the state could not afford a teacher pay raise — especially such a large one. Despite that headwind, Musgrove continued to lobby for the pay raise, though it looked that with both House Speaker Tim Ford and Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck being in opposition, his primary campaign promise would go unfulfilled.

But then some good, old-fashioned legislative distrust raised its head helping to build momentum. When asked about the pay raise one day, then influential House Ways and Means Chair Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, said, “To quote Snuffy Smith, time’s a wastin’.” McCoy’s comments were printed over that weekend as being supportive of passing the raise that session.

On that Monday, Senate leaders, knowing McCoy was one of Ford’s key allies, feared that their House counterparts were poised to announce a plan for a pay raise. The Senate leaders, not wanting to be viewed as the only obstacle to the pay raise, called a hastily organized news conference to announce a pay raise plan of their own.

That plan, proposed by Lt. Gov. Tuck, was the one that finally passed. But the numbers were similar enough to what Musgrove had proposed that everyone could claim victory.

As a sidenote, the Senate plan had language saying the salary increase would not go into effect any year where revenue collections did not grow by at least 5%.

While Musgrove opposed the revenue trigger, he feared that fighting it might result in the death of the legislation. Instead, he signed the legislation and later that summer called a special session where he was successful in convincing legislators to remove the trigger.

Musgrove, though, was not serving as governor when most of the pay raise went into effect. Because of the state’s dire economic situation, the pay raise was backloaded with the bulk of it going into effect in the last years of the multi-year commitment.

By that time, Musgrove had lost re-election to Haley Barbour. While revenue collections continued to be tepid when Barbour took office, he never tried to pass legislation that would allow the state to back out of the commitment to teachers, though the pay raise placed a tremendous strain on the state budget.

The point is that there were politicians of both parties at the time who believed it was a commitment worth keeping.

But by the time the pay raise was fully enacted, other states had also increased the salaries for teachers, meaning that Southeastern average still was not reached. Still, the record pay raise put Mississippi teachers closer to that elusive Southeastern average.

The post Lawmakers could take lessons from the historic teacher pay raise of 2000 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Under the COVID-19 safety protocols being put in place for the coming weeks, members of the Mississippi House can participate in the legislative process from the comfort of their homes.

On the Senate side, members also can participate via the internet – through Zoom – but at some point each day they must come to the Capitol if they want to be paid.

Both chambers have reported positive COVID tests in recent days – at least two in the Senate and one the House. Legislative leaders are trying to prevent what happened last summer while in session where 49 members tested positive, as did multiple staff members and lobbyists.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, has proposed recessing the session until later in the year to provide time for more COVID-19 vaccines to be administered. House Speaker Philip Gunn has rejected that proposal. Instead, the House leadership has developed a unique plan where members can log into Zoom to participate not only when the Legislature is in full session, but also when they are in committee meetings.

When House members log in for the full session, they are counted as present and thus receive the $151 per diem that legislators receive during the legislative session.

“We are not going to meet on the floor – we are going to do it by Zoom,” Gunn said. “That was our idea. I told Delbert (Wednesday) night that we were planning to do that. We talked with legal staff to make sure we could do that. They said, yes that’s fine. Then we talked with the IT people to make sure it could be done, and they said yes, in fact, he’s already got it set up to go.

“What we’re doing is, a chairman will be in (a committee room) by himself on a computer,” Gunn added. “All the members will attend by Zoom, and they’ll have the ability to ask questions and offer amendments and debate and do all the normal stuff.”

On Friday the House passed legislation that changes the section of House rules which state there must be a quorum (at least half the members) present to conduct business to say participating online will count toward the quorum until March 1.

In the Senate, the plan also is for committee meetings to be online for senators to participate, but to receive per diem they must check in at the Capitol at some point during the day.

Senate leaders are basing that decision on a section of state law saying the per diem pay is based on “actual attendance at a session.” The Constitution, which is more vague, simply says, “a majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business.”

Gunn said the Legislature is at a point in the session making it easier to conduct business online. The Legislature will meet primarily in committees until Feb. 2, passing out bills to be considered before the full chambers. The two chambers’ time in full session during this period of the legislative process is normally brief.

After the committee work is complete, Gunn said it will not be as easy to meet remotely when legislators are in full session for long periods daily to take up and vote on bills. Gunn said at that point other safety precautions will be taken to socially distance in the Capitol.

But with proper safety precautions, Gunn said he sees no need to delay the session.

Referring to the Senate’s call to recess the session, he said, “What they need to do is take a vote… They’ve been talking about it and talking about it, and they need to vote on something and send it to me. It’s a two-thirds vote. If they feel strongly about it, let them take a vote – do they have two thirds that agree on anything?  Until then it’s an academic discussion.”

But many members of the Senate see the situation differently. Sen. Derrick Simmons of Greenville, the Senate Democratic leader, said he agrees with Hosemann that the session should be delayed.

“It is more valuable when we fully participate in the process by being here,” Simmons said. “Anytime we change the way we do our work we are not effectively representing our people.”

 But not every member of the Senate seemed enamored with taking a break. Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, pointed out members had committed to leases in Jackson for the planned three-month session and a delay would mean they could lose that money as well as incur other expenses when they came back later in the year.

“Will we be compensated for having to incur the extra days and cover the things that go along with that?” Wiggins asked. “I think everyone knows that we are citizen legislators. People have jobs. People have things like that and accommodations must be made.”

Wiggins said it would be better to take safety precautions and remain in session.

Legislators receive $10,000 salary for the session and the per diem plus mileage. In addition, legislators receive $1,500 monthly out of session. The $10,000 salary is not prorated based on how many days the members are in session.

Also on Friday, the House passed a resolution to call for a joint session for Gov. Tate Reeves to deliver a State of the State speech at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, on the south steps of the Capitol. If there is inclement weather, the resolution calls for the joint session to be held in the House chamber where presumably many members would watch via the internet.

The House’s State of the State resolution most likely will be taken up Monday by senators who could change it.

Members of the public should be able to watch most committee meetings online through a YouTube channel that can be accessed here.

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The post Marshall Ramsey: Session appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Mississippi State Board of Education waived passing score requirements for high school end-of-course assessments and the third grade literacy test this school year.

The board also voted to allow schools and districts to suspend the assignment of letter grades, which measure school and district performance, for the 2020-21 year.

Although passing requirements are waived, state testing will still be administered. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education, and other education officials have said it is important to have that data to determine the impact of the pandemic on student learning. It is also mandated by the U.S. Department of Education.

Based on a 2013 law called the Literacy-Based Promotion Act, third graders in Mississippi public schools must pass a reading test to continue to fourth grade. This year, third grade students who do not pass the test will still be promoted and receive additional support in the fourth grade, according to the board.

High schoolers take tests in Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History, and will not be prevented from graduating if they don’t pass these assessments this year.

Gov. Tate Reeves in April issued an executive order granting the State Board of Education the ability to suspend or amend state laws and policies if necessary to cope with the effects of the coronavirus.

Earlier this month Wright told lawmakers the Mississippi Department of Education would be making these recommendations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she felt it was important for this to be a “year of grace” and that holding children accountable in this way would be unfair. On Thursday, the board approved her recommendations.

Board Chair Jason Dean emphasized that assessment and accountability will return to normal in the 2021-22 school year, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

The board also approved adjustments and waivers of parts of the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan, including identifying struggling schools and the timelines for improvement in those schools.

The post Passing requirements waived for some state tests in 2020-21 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, said Thursday that the House will start meeting online as COVID-19 spreads at the Capitol, but he expressed no interest in recessing the legislative session as a safety precaution.

By Thursday afternoon, at least two senators and possibly more have contracted the coronavirus since lawmakers began the 2021 session on Jan. 5. One House member had tested positive.

Though legislative leaders adopted safety guidelines this session, many lawmakers at the Capitol have been regularly seen without masks, and others have held maskless meetings in small spaces. Visitors to the Capitol have also been seen wearing masks improperly or not at all.

Gunn said the one member in his chamber who tested positive had the coronavirus last week. He said based on that test, an unspecified number of House members were quarantined. That quarantine is slated to end Friday. Gunn said the House leadership was following the recommendations of State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs.

Senate leadership on Thursday announced that they, too, would allow senators to attend committee meetings online starting next Monday. Several senators are expected to receive quarantine orders after being exposed to at least two COVID-19 positive colleagues. A third senator on Thursday was displaying symptoms but had yet to test positive.

READ MORE: COVID-19 spreads at the Capitol, quarantine orders expected for some senators.

Gunn said House members can fully participate and vote online. Senate Rules Vice Chair Walter Michel, R-Ridgeland, said the Senate needs to have enough members attend committee meetings in person at the beginning to establish a quorum. The members can then leave the committee room and participate via Zoom.

In both chambers, the plan is to have a link on the legislative web page to allow the public to access the meetings via the internet.

Before the session began, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, proposed recessing the session until later this year. He cited fears that another outbreak would occur at the Capitol. In June 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak at the Capitol infected at least 49 lawmakers, including Hosemann and Gunn, and was responsible for the death of at least one Mississippian.

READ MORE: Hosemann wants to delay 2021 session as COVID-19 spikes. House leaders remain hesitant.

Before the Senate adjourned for the weekend on Thursday, calls for the session to be recessed intensified amongst some members of the Senate.

Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, said he agreed with Hosemann that the “best course in light of what we are dealing with is to suspend the session… A lot of members have said it was not a matter of if we would have an outbreak, but a matter of when.”

The Senate is unable to recess for a long period of time without the consent of the House. At this point with no agreement from the House, the plan is for both chambers to conduct more business online.

“We have a plan to allow us to work and to work in a safe manner,” Gunn said Thursday. He said he “would like to see a vote” from senators to see if a two-thirds majority, which is required to recess the session, actually supports the idea of postponing.

The Legislature is at the point in the session where most of the work is done in committee meetings instead of in the chamber before the full membership. Gunn said in the coming days as the committee work continues, both the committee meetings and the full sessions, which will be brief each day, will be conducted online.

The post Lawmakers will work via internet as COVID-19 spreads at the Capitol appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Some members of the Mississippi Senate are expected to receive a quarantine notice from the Mississippi State Department of Health, notifying them not to return to the state Capitol until they receive a negative test for COVID-19.

On Thursday morning, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, abruptly adjourned the upper chamber until Monday. After gaveling out, Hosemann told Mississippi Today that one senator had received the quarantine notice. He anticipated others would, though he did not have a number.

Members who receive the notice would be those who had close contact with the two senators — perhaps more — who have contracted COVID-19 the past few days. As of midday Thursday, a third senator was displaying symptoms but had yet to test positive.

At least one House member also has received a positive test, officials told Mississippi Today earlier this week.

The coronavirus is spreading at the Capitol after lawmakers have been in the building since Jan. 5. Though legislative leaders adopted safety guidelines this session, many lawmakers at the Capitol have been regularly seen without masks, and others have held maskless meetings in small spaces. Visitors to the Capitol have also been seen wearing masks improperly or not at all.

Hosemann proposed postponing the 2021 session until later in the year, but that proposal was rejected by House leadership, including Speaker Philip Gunn.

In announcing that proposal in late December, Hosemann cited fears that another outbreak would occur at the Capitol. In June 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak at the Capitol infected at least 49 lawmakers, including Hosemann and Gunn, and was responsible for the death of at least one Mississippian.

READ MORE: Hosemann wants to delay 2021 session as COVID-19 spikes. House leaders remain hesitant.

Before the Senate adjourned for the weekend on Thursday, the Senate Rules Committee announced that when senators return to Jackson on Monday, safety precautions will be strengthened.

Sen. Walter Michel, R-Ridgeland, who is the vice chair of the Rules Committee, said the goal is to post committee agendas online the day before any called meeting. The meetings will be confined to two larger rooms, and the proceedings will be streamed online that can be accessed from the legislative website. In addition, senators can participate in the committee meetings online via Zoom if they choose.

But Michel stressed that in order to establish a quorum for the meetings, enough senators would have to show up in person. They could then leave the room and participate via Zoom. The committee chairs will have the discretion of limiting in-person attendance at the meeting for members of the public if the meeting is being streamed online.

As Michel outlined the new procedures, many senators expressed interest in recessing for a period of time until more vaccinations are administered.

The House will convene in session at 2 p.m. on Thursday, when that chamber is expected to receive an update on the coronavirus.

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I have been rolling my eyes — smiling, happy, and annoyed — all day. I feel so indifferent.

I’m the daughter of a retired schoolteacher-ish Black woman who was 13 years old in Tylertown, Mississippi, when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. She grew up in the height of Jim Crow segregation, and her senior high school class was among the first in the Deep South to integrate.

I’m the step-daughter of a proud Army Special Forces vet who, after retiring, drove trucks — a man who fought in Desert Storm and led several missions he can’t tell anyone about and twitches a little if you mention certain things. My dad isn’t a conservative, but he is still a man from Monticello, Mississippi, who grew up poor and uninvolved.

I’m the granddaughter of people who got to breathe and digest all they’d done in the civil rights movement. They’d grown fatigued after Medgar, Martin and Malcolm were killed, but they reengaged in local matters and built community with the folks in Walthall County. My grandpaw had a garden that grew greens and other fresh vegetables that he let anybody take. The family owned a funeral home and would help folks who needed assistance burying their loved ones. It was a selflessness that couldn’t be taught.

To honor this moment when Biden and Harris were sworn in, my mama wore chucks and pearls. My daddy wore his Army Special Forces hat. They sat in the living room in complete awe that they lived to see a Black man become president and a Black-Asian American woman become vice president.

My parents and grandparents lived in a time where this moment was a wild dream and never completely fathomable. They are proud and happy today, and it is so pure. I understand their excitement on a deeply personal and unexplainable level.

But as they fell asleep on the couch after Biden and Harris took their oaths, I immediately began to feel my politics take over and my own contradictions take center stage as I processed this moment in history.

I have recently begun to wrestle with a lot of my values and beliefs — my upbringing and the world I want to see in my lifetime. All of it is real, but often, it’s all contradictory. I feel that especially hard today.

I cringed as Jennifer Lopez sang “This Land,” and not even four minutes later, one of the Indigenous folks I follow reposted on Instagram: “… As it’s sung at the inauguration, it is a reminder of how this country came to be. It is erasure of the Indigenous history and anti-Indigenous. This IS stolen land.”

After reading that post, I was undone. I thought back to all the things Mississippi Studies and no other History Class in my public schooling ever taught me. I thought about the truth of who and what both Biden and Harris represent, and who they have been and not been in their political careers.

None of us are perfect, and all deserve grace. But I am struggling with what we are holding ourselves as hostage to in our choices and within the possibilities for our democracy.

All we have done with this election is borrow more time.

I, myself, made an intentional decision last year to help us borrow that time. In 2016, I supported Bernie Sanders. His policies and ideas align closely with mine. But after talking to my mama last year — my mama understands something about this country that I will never know — I made a conscious decision to vote for Biden. I felt he gave us the best chance to defeat Trump.

I was strategic, learned and calculated in that decision AND clear that my vote was a deliberate and intentional decision to buy more time.

Today, all I hear is Angela Davis saying, “… we cannot rely on governments, no matter who is in power, to do the work that only mass movements can do.”

I want us to keep imagining beyond. For the life of me, I don’t want us to become complacent.

Complacent is what we became in the Obama era. I’m petrified that this moment will feel so symbolic, just like it was in 2008, and that we get comfortable. The electoral work of our movement shouldn’t cease. I want us to recalibrate and reassess what our collective agenda will be over the next four years, across ideologies and practices that center the lives and wellbeing of Black folks.

I want us to all get comfortable in our contradictions — those of us who call ourselves organizers, thought leaders of/in movement, freedom dreamers, “political operatives at the intersection” of all of this, or whatever fancy titles we’ve given ourselves. Because when we get honest, we can work.

My mama wouldn’t believe this, but the honesty and love of Black women in Mississippi, especially her, have been my moral compass in this complex electoral work I do. Because of her and a few of my elders, I’m not tethered to any idea of political purity. I learned early on when I began my nonprofit electoral organizing work to not stress myself out with ideological purity, either.

I am the daughter of that schoolteacher, the step-daughter of that truck driver with the military background, the granddaughter of those selfless community builders. I really do understand my parents’ happiness today and what it would have meant to my grandparents.

But I am also a girl who came of age in the 1990s, a millennial who is a student of the freedom struggle, Ella Baker style. I’ve learned the teachings of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, and I have a deep respect for the Republic of New Afrika. I AM INDIFFERENT!

I’m not happy. I’m not unhappy. I’m just clear.

Never doubt that I am always clear and always calculated in my work. As are my people. The South — Mississippi, more specifically — continues to show this country, especially down ballot, that this ain’t the Old South.

So, here we are in this moment and we still have work to do.

We still must organize.

We still must become more clear and more aligned as a movement.

We must know our roles and play them well.

And we must get honest about the contradictions so that we can clear the air and move.

It’s the first step in the path forward.

The post Indifference on Inauguration Day appeared first on Mississippi Today.