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State law enforcement officers — about 1,750 in various state agencies — are slated to receive a $1,000 bonus before the end of the year for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Tate Reeves announced.

The cost of the bonus, about $2.3 million, will be paid through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that was passed on a bipartisan basis during the Trump administration to provide funds to the states to help battle the pandemic.

At the time, Reeves argued that he should have discretion to spend the entire $1.25 billion the state received from the CARES Act. But the Legislature blocked Reeves’ effort and spent the bulk of the funds. The Legislature provided the governor discretion in how to spend $50 million of the funds.

Reeves said Monday he had about $5 million left in the discretionary funds that he must dish out by the end of the year. He did not give details of how all of the remaining funds will be spent, though he did say that $688,000 would be allocated to the Department of Child Protective Services to help with the expenses they incurred trying to ensure safety of their staff and the foster children they oversee during the pandemic.

READ MORE: Gov. Reeves got $50 million in CARES Act money. Here’s how he spent it.

Reeves said he wanted to provide the bonuses or hazard pay to the officers because “day in and day out they put their lives on the line to keep us safe.”

He said they have not had the option to work from home during the pandemic.

About half of the sworn law enforcement personnel who will receive the bonuses are in the Department of Public Safety. The others are in a litany of state agencies, ranging from the Department of Revenue, Department of Agriculture and Commerce, and Insurance.

Sean Tindell, the commissioner of public safety, attended the Reeves news conference and said about 50 law enforcement officers — at both the state and local levels — have died of the coronavirus. The bonuses were allocated only for state officers.

“We just buckled down and did the job no matter what. Sometimes that entails wearing masks. We were in and out of that,” said Trooper Craig James who spoke at the news conference.

James said it was “humbling” that the governor would provide the funds “at this time of the year.”

Earlier this year, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn urged Reeves to call a special session to allow the Legislature to appropriate funds from another pot of federal money — the American Rescue Plan Act — to provide bonuses for health care workers who were overwhelmed during a COVID-19 surge in the late summer.

Reeves did not call a special session. On Monday, the governor praised health care workers, but did not make any comment on whether he would support such bonuses. He said the theme of the Christmas decorations at the Governor’s Mansion in 2020 was to honor “health care heroes.”

“We had a lot of health care heroes. No doubt about it,” the governor said.

FOLLOW THE MONEY: How will Mississippi spend billions in federal pandemic stimulus dollars?

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The omicron variant of COVID-19 is sweeping through the nation, forcing many families to rethink holiday plans and even closing down many schools and workplaces.

Earlier this month, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported the first confirmed case of the COVID-19 omicron variant in the state in a fully vaccinated individual who recently traveled to New York.

Mississippi Today recently spoke with Dr. Paul Byers, the state health department’s chief epidemiologist, to learn more about the variant and how to take precautions during the holiday season.

Editor's note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Mississippi Today: Will you walk us through what we do and what we do not know yet about the omicron variant?

Dr. Paul Byers: Over the past year, we’ve seen new variant strains of the COVID-19 virus that have emerged with omicron being the latest one. What we know about it so far is that it looks like it is likely more infectious than the original strain of COVID-19 that we dealt with back in 2020. We don’t know yet how much more infectious it may be than the Delta variant. We do know that it looks like the vaccine is likely protective against severe complications, hospitalizations and deaths that can occur from the omicron variant. Certainly, people who’ve been infected previously, and then were fully vaccinated, likely have more protection, and that’s very similar to what we’ve seen with the other variant strains that have emerged over the last year. 

We don’t know, ultimately, how effective the vaccine will be at preventing infection. We don’t know whether or not it will be resistant to some of the treatments that are out there, specifically things like the monoclonal antibodies, and we don’t know the severity of illness. So far, it’s looking like it may be causing a less severe illness than the delta variant. We’re still very early in the game on this one. We’re in the process of learning more and more about omicron on a daily basis. And so I think these next couple of weeks will tell us a whole lot more. But there are still some things that we know are the basics, and the basics are the basics.

The best way to prevent infection, transmission, and the complications from omicron are the same kinds of things that we’ve been doing this whole time. It starts with vaccination. Make sure you’re fully vaccinated. Make sure that you get a booster vaccine if you’re eligible. We know that now getting the booster vaccine is only going to help when it comes to omicron and other variants. We know that wearing a mask in indoor public settings is a good idea to not only protect yourself, but to protect those folks around you. We’re still seeing very high transmission or substantial transmission in the majority of the state right now. The other thing that we do know is that right now in Mississippi, virtually 100% of what we’re seeing being transmitted in the state is still delta. So we are still in the midst of delta transmission in Mississippi right now, although we need to watch omicron closely.

Mississippi Today: What recommendations would you have for folks as they’re maybe reevaluating their plans for the holiday season in response to the emergence of this new variant?

Byers: A lot of it’s gonna depend on what activities you do. Outdoor gatherings are safer than indoors, especially with groups that don’t normally gather together. If you go out to a big event, make sure that you’re wearing a mask in that indoor setting. Think about whether or not you need to attend that big event. In family groups, especially if there are folks in your family who are vulnerable, if you haven’t gotten vaccinated, go ahead and start that process. Rethink whether or not you need to be around those vulnerable family members if you may put them at risk. I think that we can do things safely. We just need to think about all we’ve all been through. The recommendations really haven’t changed that much from where we started. 

Mississippi Today: Throughout the past two years, we’ve talked a lot about COVID fatigue, but it appears like it’s even more astute recently, with more talking and acting as if we’re in a post COVID world. What do you think about this shift in attitudes?

Byers: We know that everybody’s tired. And we know that we all want to go back to normal as much as we can and interact with our friends and families, especially over the holidays. We are still in the middle of significant transmission of COVID-19 in the state and although we’ve had some decline in our deaths recently, we are starting to see our case numbers go back up. And when we see our case number go up, typically we will start to see more hospitalizations and more deaths as a result of the increased numbers of cases. And with the holidays coming up, we do anticipate that we will see those increases both during and after the holidays.

We are not out of the woods yet. Things have gotten better than they were in the previous couple months, but again, we’re still seeing a lot of transmission. In Mississippi and in the United States, we may be done with COVID, but it’s not done with us yet. And I think we’ve just got to stay the course because really it’s all about saving lives.

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The Mississippi Department of Education says there are 3,036 certified teacher vacancies across the state — a staggering figure that shows the extent of the state’s long-standing teacher shortage.

Mississippi Today has reported several times since 2019 that state officials had never tracked data regarding the state’s critical teacher shortage. The release of the new data last week by MDE marks the first time the generational problem has been comprehensively tracked by state officials.

The vacancies were reported by every school district across the state, and state officials said the 3,036 figure includes both positions that remain completely vacant and positions currently held by teachers who are not certified. There are currently about 32,000 total teachers across the state.

“This is perhaps one of the most comprehensive pictures we have ever had of teacher shortages,” Courtney Van Cleve, MDE director of educator talent acquisition and effectiveness, said when presenting the data to the State Board of Education on Dec. 16. 

The largest number of vacancies is at the elementary level, with 958 vacancies. High school teachers come in at a close second of 881 vacancies. The remaining 1,200 vacancies were among middle school teachers and music/arts/special education. 

The survey also measured vacancies in support staff and administration. When adding these vacancies with the teaching positions, the overall total of vacancies across Mississippi is 5,503. The largest categories of vacancies among support staff were teachers assistants, bus drivers and food service staff. 

The survey was fielded in September 2021 for the 2021-2022 school year and had 100% district participation.

“Looking at many of your faces, I’ll acknowledge that (these) numbers can feel daunting,” Van Cleve told the board. “It can even feel disheartening. And yet we’re really encouraged. We’re encouraged in the office of teaching and leading that a number of the strategies we have in place are indeed targeting some of the highest areas of need statewide.” 

Van Cleve then highlighted two programs, the Mississippi Teacher Residency and the Performance Based Licensure Pilot, which seek to facilitate the process of fully certifying a teacher for the classroom and attract and retain more teachers. Early data from MDE showed that both programs were helping teachers successfully overcome barriers. 

When Angela Bass, a member of the State Board of Education, asked how this teacher shortage compared to previous years, Van Cleve explained that this is the first time the Department of Education has had this level of data, meaning there’s no benchmark to compare it to. 

Teacher vacancies were also presented by congressional district. The largest portion of the vacancies exist in the 3rd Congressional District, with 1,274. The 1st Congressional District had the lowest number at 276.

Lawmakers have said they plan to address the issue of Mississippi’s lowest-in-the-nation teacher pay — a major contributing factor to the state’s teacher shortage — when they return to the Capitol in January 2022.

ANALYSIS: Teacher pay remains an afterthought despite once-in-a-lifetime financial opportunity

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Mississippi Today editors Kayleigh Skinner and Adam Ganucheau discuss potential Mississippi legislation that would aim to ban critical race theory from being taught in Mississippi schools — even though critical race theory isn’t currently being taught in Mississippi schools.

Listen to more episodes of The Other Side here.

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In this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-at-Large (and cartoonist) Marshall Ramsey sits down with cartoonist Paige Braddock. Braddock tells how she decided at the age of 7 that she wanted to be a cartoonist. 

After moving around the country and attending 17 schools (!),  she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1985. Early in her career she worked as an illustrator for several newspapers, including The Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, and The Atlanta Constitution. Braddock began crafting her long-standing comic, Jane’s World, in 1991.

After a 20-year run, Braddock stepped away decided to end the strip. But her book Love Letters to Jane’s World recently won her the Mississippi Library Association’s Mississippi Writer’s Fiction Award. Paige attended elementary school in Wiggins, Mississippi.

In 1999, Braddock assumed the position of Chief Creative Officer and in this role is charged with overseeing the visual and editorial direction for all Peanuts licensed products worldwide. The Schulz studio works in tandem with the licensing office in New York, Peanuts Worldwide.  As a professional cartoonist, she has illustrated several Peanuts children’s books. The Snoopy U.S. postage stamp issued in April 2001 was designed by Braddock.

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The Mississippi Women’s Economic Security Initiative Coalition is a collective of over 50 organizations with thousands of members from across the entire State of Mississippi. The Coalition is organized to promote policies to improve the economic wellbeing of Women and those supported by Women.

Mississippi’s working women are “economically insecure.” Without equal pay protection, the women of our state face persistent poverty, and live under perpetual financial trauma. An Equal Pay Law that protects the women of Mississippi should be a priority for our state, and our leaders. Without support, women are forced to balance the duress they face in unprotected jobs with the need to provide for the basic needs of a family including childcare, housing, healthcare, and transportation.

Despite the fact that 49% of the state’s workforce are women,

• 83% of single female led households live below the poverty level;
• Women make up nearly two-thirds of workers being paid the minimum wage of only $7.25/hr;

• More than 70 percent work in tipped jobs; and
• More than seven in 10 work in low wage jobs that typically pay $11.50/hour or less.

Mississippi’s women are economic drivers for their families and the broader Mississippi economy. Equal pay protection would benefit the whole of Mississippi. Passing an Equal Pay Law, $4.15 billion dollars would add to Mississippi’s economy. Passage of a comprehensive equal pay law would benefit and protect both the employee and the employer. Equal pay protection is good for business.

Mississippi is the only state in the nation without an Equal Pay law. Mississippi urgently needs to enact an equal pay law that ensures that all employees:

• Receive equal pay for equal work, without regard to their sex, race, national origin, or other protected characteristics, unless an employer shows a bona fide business justification for the pay difference;
• Are protected from retaliation for discussing their pay with co-workers;
• Aren’t forced to provide their salary history when seeking a job, because pay discrimination follows individuals from job to job when employers rely on job applicants’ salary history to set pay;
• Are able to recover compensatory and punitive damages and be fully compensated for the harm they experience from pay discrimination; and which
• Provides a safe harbor from damages for businesses that conduct a self-evaluation of their pay practices and are working towards closing gender and racial wage gaps.

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Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Gov. Tate Reeves have had a roller coaster relationship during the period their political careers have overlapped.

During much of Reeves’ term as governor, the two statewide elected officials have been working well together. That is why speculation that Fitch is considering a challenge of Reeves in the 2023 Republican gubernatorial primary is so surprising.

For his part Reeves seems to be expecting a crowded primary for governor. During an October meeting of the state’s eight statewide officials — all Republican — he reportedly joked that his fellow officeholders probably would run for re-election unopposed while he would face multiple contenders.

Whether one of those contenders will be Fitch is an intriguing question.

While Reeves and Fitch seem on the same page now, that has not always been the case. Fitch replaced Reeves as treasurer when he captured the open seat of lieutenant governor in 2011. From almost the beginning of her tenure as treasurer, Fitch clashed with her predecessor.

It most likely began when Fitch shut down new enrollment in the state’s college savings plan for about a year because of concerns by actuaries that it was not financially sound.

The Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Plan, where people can purchase a college education for children at today’s prices, was not created by Reeves, but he was a vocal advocate for the program. During his tenure as treasurer, two key House members, Appropriations Chair Johnny Stringer and Cecil Brown, a former state fiscal officer, met with Reeves to express concerns about the plan’s financial soundness. He neglected those concerns.

When Fitch shut the program down, Reeves was angered. But she stuck by her guns and opened it up about a year later after making significant changes, including increasing the cost to participate in the program.

And later, Fitch got on Reeves’ bad side when she sent a letter to the state’s political leadership expressing concern at what she described as the high level of state borrowing and the wisdom of some of the projects the Legislature was funding with the borrowing.

Reeves, loaded for bear, was prepared to confront Fitch about the letter at a meeting scheduled between the treasurer’s office and legislative leaders. But alas, Fitch did not attend, leaving it to one of her deputies to absorb Reeves’ wrath.

But in their new positions, Reeves and Fitch have been, well, simpatico.

The first any person noticed of the new relationship was when Speaker Philip Gunn, also viewed as a possible opponent for Reeves in the 2023 Republican primary, sued the governor when he partially vetoed an appropriations bill in 2020. Gunn charged the Constitution did not allow the governor to partially veto the bill in the manner that he did.

The attorney general is the state’s lawyer. But the AG always has the discretion not to participate in a case for various reason, such as believing the state’s case is legally wrong or choosing not to take sides between two powerful politicians — in this case the speaker and the governor.

But Fitch chose to take the side of Gov. Reeves and oppose Speaker Gunn. The governor’s side prevailed incidentally.

In more recent days, Reeves has hitched his political wagon to Fitch’s efforts to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that established a woman’s right to an abortion.

The court case originated from a 2018 law passed by the Mississippi Legislature banning abortions after 15 weeks. Under previous court rulings, the right to abortion in most instances is guaranteed until around the 22nd week.

In asking the high court to uphold the 15-week ban, Fitch went a step further requesting that the court completely overturn Roe v. Wade.

Reeves has appeared on multiple national news shows in recent week arguing that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. On a national level, at least, he is the Mississippi politician most closely affiliated with the effort to overturn Roe.

And true, Reeves was lieutenant governor, presiding over the Senate, when the bill was passed and signed into law by then-Gov. Phil Bryant. But it was a House bill, not a Senate bill.

Interestingly, the multiple bills introduced in the Senate in 2018 — including some that also would have banned abortion after 15 weeks — all died in committee in the Senate where Reeves exercised considerable control.

It was only after the 15-week abortion bill, authored primarily by Rep. Becky Currie of Brookhaven, passed the House and made it to the Senate that the Senate leadership ultimately took up and passed the legislation.

And now Lynn Fitch and Tate Reeves are in lock step touting the virtue of that legislation. Will they remain on the same page in 2023 after the deadline for candidates to qualify to run for statewide office?

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