OurTupelo

One Democrat in the Mississippi Senate – Hob Bryan of Amory – represents a district that does not have a majority African American population.

Republicans hold 36 of the seats in the 52-member chamber. There are currently 14 Democrats. Two Democrats resigned this summer and special elections have not been held to replace them. Those two vacant Senate seats as well as 13 other districts represented by Democrats not named Bryan have a Black population of more than 50%.

In the coming months, as U.S. Census data comes in, legislators will begin the task of redrawing the 52 Senate districts and 122 House districts to match population shifts found by the decennial census. Legislators on the committee tasked with overseeing the drawing of both state legislative districts and the four U.S. House seats will hold nine public hearings across the state, starting at 6 p.m. Aug. 5 at Meridian Community College’s McCain Theatre, to garner public input. Then in the 2022 session, legislators will try to complete the redistricting process.

Presumably, Republicans who control the Senate could redraw the districts in a manner to increase their numbers, but at this point that would be just running up the score.

There are past federal court precedents that would seem to prevent the Legislature from reducing the number of Black majority districts. But in recent court rulings, the federal courts – particularly the U.S. Supreme Court – have seemed less willing in the eyes of some to protect minority voting rights.

Still, it is safe to assume the Senate leadership would have little interest in garnering national attention by reducing the number of African American districts.

And as far as Bryan is concerned, a district in northeast Mississippi most likely could be drawn to reduce his re-election chances. But it also is unlikely the Senate leadership is inclined to do that. Most senators have at some point cursed Bryan’s occasional outbursts and eccentricities. At the same time, most senators, including members of the leadership, have made no secret of their respect for his intellect and knowledge of the legislative process.

Perhaps that is best exemplified by the fact that Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann placed Bryan on the committee charged with redrawing the districts.

Over in the House, the situation is much the same. There are five Democrats who represent districts that were majority white when they were drawn in 2012.

Like in the Senate, the House Republicans, who control all the power with their 76 members, could increase their numbers through redistricting to the extent they would not be blocked by federal courts, but at some point such an effort might just look like poor sportsmanship.

There are currently 40 Black members in the House.

The point being that in the redistricting after the 2010 Census there was an urgency by both Republicans and Democrats to redistrict in such a manner to ensure their respective party’s control of the Legislature. That fight is over. The Republicans won, and they won big.

If Democrats had prevailed in the 2011 election and controlled redistricting in the 2012 session, they could have drawn districts in a manner to give members of their party more of a fighting chance, particularly in the House.

But House Democrats, who held the majority before they lost the 2011 election by a narrow margin, lost the ability to control the redrawing of the districts in the 2012 session. The result was Republicans drew districts where they had significant advantages. For instance, before the redrawing of the districts in 2012, when Democrats controlled the House, there were 13 House districts drawn with significant but not dominant African American influence – a Black population of more than 35% but less than a majority.

Conventional wisdom has been that such districts give white Democrats the best chance to win in Mississippi. During the last redistricting, after Republicans had wrestled control, that number dropped to two districts with a Black population of more than 35% but less than a majority. In the Senate, the change went from 11 districts with a Black population of more than 35% but less than a majority to three.

In other words, Republicans did their redistricting work in 2012 to ensure their legislative dominance. Redistricting this time will be more about maintaining.

But even if Democrats had won the House in the 2011 elections, there would have been no guarantee that they could have drawn districts that would have ensured their continued control of the House. The bottom line continues to be that in Mississippi the vast majority of white people vote Republican and most African Americans vote Democrat.

And any amount of legislative redistricting will not change that voting pattern and give Democrats a fighting chance to regain control of the Mississippi Legislature in the foreseeable future.

The post When it comes to redistricting, all that’s left for Republicans is to run up the score. Will they? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

We asked readers to tell us what questions they have about how Mississippi’s COVID-19 vaccination progress will affect the return to school.

Here are some of the common questions Mississippians have, with answers provided by Kate Royals, our lead education reporter, and Molly Minta, our higher education reporter.

Still have questions? We’ll be updating this FAQ as more questions arise. Just ask. You may also check out our COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ and our COVID-19 Vaccine Guide for more information.

Has the vaccine been required for students and staff to attend school?

No. The vaccine has not been made mandatory for students or staff returning to Mississippi schools. The Mississippi Department of Health has strongly recommended all eligible students and staff be vaccinated before returning to school.

Are masks mandatory for students and staff?

No, masks have not been made mandatory for students and staff returning to Mississippi schools. Gov. Tate Reeves, the only individual capable of issuing such a statewide order, has repeatedly said he will not be issuing any executive orders mandating that masks be worn in schools. The Mississippi Department of Health has strongly recommended that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in indoor settings.

Will students or staff need to show proof of vaccine?

No, although employers (in this case schools) may legally ask their employees if they are vaccinated.

Are there any plans to require vaccines if the vaccines get full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)?

The only school district considering such a requirement that Mississippi Today is aware of is the Natchez-Adams School District. The Mississippi Department of Education has said it is unaware of any other school districts planning to require the COVID-19 vaccine.

Since students are not required to be vaccinated or wear masks, what, if anything, will be done to protect teachers and students from possible COVID exposure?

The Mississippi Department of Health’s recommendations include mask-wearing for all individuals regardless of vaccination status, maintaining three feet of physical distancing between individuals at all times and quarantining or routine screening testing of unvaccinated individuals who are exposed to COVID-19. Several schools have used federal funds to purchase additional personal protective and cleaning and sanitation equipment, in addition to improving ventilation.

Will the State Department of Education create and enforce a unified standard for all districts?

No. “The Mississippi Department of Health leads on these issues and has been providing the COVID-19 information and guidance to districts,” a spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Education said.

Will schools be allowed to administer vaccinations to students at the schools?

Yes, with parental consent. The Mississippi Department of Health also has an Adopt-a-School program that links schools with COVID-19 vaccine providers to make on-site vaccinations for individuals 12 years old and above available. Part of the program involves working with schools to send out consent forms and other required forms home to parents, which will help the school estimate how many staff are needed and how long the clinic should last.

Have the state’s public universities required students be vaccinated?

No. The Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees has not made the vaccine mandatory for students. However, the University of Mississippi Medical Center will require, with limited exceptions, students to get fully vaccinated once the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines receive full authorization from the FDA. The Mississippi Department of Health has strongly recommended all students be vaccinated before returning to school.

Have the community colleges required that all students and employees be vaccinated for COVID-19?

No. Community colleges have not made the vaccine mandatory for students and employees.

Can universities and schools establish their own masking and distancing policies, even if the state government does not ?

Yes.

The post FAQ: COVID-19 and Mississippi schools appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The school board attorney for the Greenville School District said she turned in the names of the bus drivers involved in the alleged bus driver strike to the Attorney General’s office on Thursday.

The board previously instructed Dorian Turner, the attorney, to draft the documentation for their review and approval last month. Board members indicated they had no questions or concerns about the documents to discuss at their regular meeting this week, so Turner mailed the information to Attorney General Lynn Fitch, she said.

A request for comment to Board President Jan Vaughn was not immediately returned on Friday.

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office also did not immediately respond to questions submitted by Mississippi Today.

Between 13 to 20 bus drivers for the Greenville Public School District skipped work in April to protest reduced pay and what they called poor work conditions. Following the strike, which is explicitly illegal in Mississippi, the school board reversed a previous decision to reduce the number of work days for the drivers for the next school year by five days.

This was one of the first organized work stoppages in Mississippi public schools since 9,429 teachers walked out in a 1985 strike, after which lawmakers passed the demanded pay increases but also enacted one of the nation’s most stringent strike laws.

Bus drivers in Jackson Public Schools went on strike in 2013, but it did not result in a lawsuit, according to Sherwin Johnson, spokesperson for the school district.

Johnson also said bus drivers were given an increase in pay the following year. It’s unclear if their names were ever turned over to then-Attorney General Jim Hood at the time.

Several bus drivers who previously spoke to Mississippi Today said they had not been paid by the district for hours worked. One driver said she was not paid for the duration of her quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 while at work.

In May, Turner advised board members that what occurred was indeed a strike. Board officials, however, delayed taking any action for weeks.

The strike law passed in 1985 clearly states that school board members themselves are responsible for reporting the names of those who went on strike to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. For each day that those names are not reported by the board to the state, the individual board members and school administrators can be fined between $100 and $250. 

The post Greenville school officials turn in names of bus drivers involved in strike appeared first on Mississippi Today.

With the federal eviction moratorium ending on Saturday, concern is growing around the rental debt in the state of Mississippi. 

New data published by the New York Times estimates that 23.2% of renters in Hinds County owe some amount of back rent. Most counties in Mississippi are in a similar position. 

To address this rental shortfall, the December 2020 COVID-19 stimulus bill provided $25 billion for rental assistance across the country, of which Mississippi received $186 million (Harrison and Hinds counties each received an additional $7 million). The statewide program, Rental Assistance for Mississippians (RAMP), is being administered by the Mississippi Home Corporation. 

Mississippi Today reported last month that RAMP had distributed just $3 million or 1.7% of its allotment. One month later, they more than tripled that number to $11.6 million, or 6.2% of the total allotment. 

Mississippi Home Corporation Director Scott Spivey attributed this increased disbursement to a streamlining of the application process and efforts to increase awareness of the program. 

While this progress has provided assistance to more families, Sara Miller of the Hope Policy Institute pointed out that “most of those funds have remained unspent.” Miller continued, “We’re concerned because of the mismatch, all of those funds remain available and yet so many people haven’t been able to access them and will be at risk of eviction in a couple of days.” 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled at the end of June that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had exceeded its authority in extending the moratorium repeatedly, placing the onus on Congress to provide further extensions. President Joe Biden asked Congress on Thursday to extend the moratorium, but it is unlikely action will be taken before the current moratorium expires. 

While the eviction moratorium has provided assistance to some tenants, evictions have never stopped during the pandemic. According to the Hope Policy Institute, around 300 evictions were filed in Hinds county just this month. 

The moratorium could only provide protection to those who knew to ask for it, with tenants having to file an eviction protection declaration with their landlord to be eligible. Miller also pointed out that the moratorium didn’t necessarily cover everyone who could be at risk of eviction. Despite this, she still felt that extending the moratorium would be beneficial for tenants to “provide some protection from a looming crisis of evictions.” 

“We’re hoping that the (RAMP) program administrators, court staff, and community organizations can work together to have an outreach process for people that are in immediate risk, and a path for court staff to acknowledge when people have applied for rental assistance and are just waiting on payment,” Miller said.

One of the key ways to get RAMP funds into the hands of tenants is by partnering with local organizations that can more easily pinpoint needs, according to Miller. The Home Corporation has made strides in pursuing this avenue, sharing a map on the RAMP website that shows local nonprofits that have agreed to help tenants submit applications and collect proper documentation. 

“Evictions have far-reaching effects on our communities beyond just the people directly affected — who would carry deep scars for a long time from the process and would be affected in their ability to get housing in the future — but we also know it’s not good for the whole community to have so many folks evicted,” Miller said. “The magnitude of the problem is greater than we can comprehend.”

To apply for rental assistance through the RAMP program, visit ms-ramp.com. If you live in Harrison County, you may also contact the Open Doors Homeless Coalition at 228-604-8011. For rental assistance in Hinds County, visit hindsrentalaid.com or call 601-514-0137.

The post With federal eviction moratorium ending Saturday, Mississippi has spent 6.2% of federal rental assistance funds appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: It’s the Heat appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Natchez-Adams School District could require all its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to work in the district next year. 

Phillip West, the vice chair of the school board for the Natchez-Adams School District, said he’ll be introducing a motion at the board meeting Tuesday to require all eligible employees of the district to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. The policy would allow for employees with legitimate medical conditions or religious reasons to be exempt.

The board discussed the matter in a recent work session, and most members were in favor, he said. Several had concerns about an “exodus” of teachers walking off the job or potential legal challenges to such a requirement. 

“It is my position, and a number of others agreed with the position, that this is a public health crisis,” said West, a former state legislator and the mayor of Natchez from 2004 to 2008. “I’m trying to be proactive instead of reactive.”

Amos James, the president of the board, said he had no opinion on the matter at this time.

Cecile Bunch, the board secretary, declined to comment when reached on Thursday. Bruce Kuehnle, the board attorney, said he is still researching the matter after being asked by the board to do so. 

He said it would not be appropriate to discuss the issue until he reports back to the board. 

Mississippi is currently facing a fourth wave of COVID infections. Adams County had the 14th highest number of cases of the state’s 82 counties over a two-week period in July, according to the Mississippi Department of Health. It also had a test positivity rate of 18.1% from June 30 to July 13, meaning nearly one in five tests for COVID-19 came back positive.

Thirty-two percent of Adams County residents are fully vaccinated as of Thursday.

West maintains that requiring eligible employees to be vaccinated is a “no brainer,” though it would take some logistical adjustments, including that teachers have already signed contracts for the school year that do not include a requirement they be vaccinated.

West said he believes the school board must be the one to act because Gov. Tate Reeves and the state education department are making decisions based on the “political climate.” At the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday, Reeves said “1.2 million Mississippians have chosen to get vaccinated. Others have chosen a different path. I will always defend those people’s right to decide what is best for them and their families.”

West continued: “As a result of that, I think we could be causing harm as opposed to preventing harm, if we don’t do something. And maybe by us doing this some other districts might consider it themselves,” he continued. “But I’m mainly concerned with my district.”

It’s unclear whether other Mississippi school districts are currently considering a similar mandate. Jean Cook, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Education, said the department is not aware of any other districts planning to require the vaccine.  

Generally, employers in both the public and private sector have the ability to require certain vaccinations of their employees, Joseph Adams, a Jackson employment and labor attorney who represents the Mississippi Professional Educators, said. 

“I do not know of any law whatsoever that would prohibit private or public employers in Mississippi from putting a mandatory vaccine program in place,” said Adams. “ … I think in the school system it would be an even more compelling interest to do that because you have teachers being around kids, everybody going home and so forth.”

But Adams said he’s not aware of any challenges that have gone through the court system, and it’s new legal territory. 

“Generally speaking, employers have a lot of leeway in this regard. But the facts and circumstances of individuals who object (to the vaccine) are going to have to be considered,” said Adams. 

Nationally, President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that federal employees and contractors must confirm they’ve been vaccinated or else be tested twice a week for the coronavirus.

While children who attend public schools and colleges and universities in the state must receive certain vaccines unless they have an exemption, teachers and school staff are not required by law to show proof of any vaccination, according to the Mississippi Department of Health. 

“This has been done in the health care area, in colleges throughout the United States requiring students who come to their schools to show proof of vaccination and by people in private sector business,” said West, also referring to the recent discussion of requiring federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. “It’s a no brainer to me. People can sue you for a ham sandwich, but it doesn’t mean it’s not a frivolous lawsuit.”  

The University of Mississippi Medical Center recently announced that it will require its employees and students to get the COVID-19 vaccine once the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The policy will be phased in over the course of three months. 

The new school year begins on Monday for the district. 

The post Natchez-Adams schools to consider requiring COVID-19 vaccine for teachers, staff appeared first on Mississippi Today.

While I love a good political speech full of red meat (and call me crazy), I don’t think that Critical Race Theory is Mississippi’s biggest issue right now.

The post Marshall Ramsey: The Biggest Threat appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Gov. Tate Reeves in his Neshoba County Fair speech on Thursday proposed “an immediate $1,300 across-the-board” pay raise for teachers followed by $1,000 raises for the following two years – all of which would require legislative approval.

The total $3,300 teacher pay raise over three years, coupled with a $1,000 raise lawmakers passed this year, would cost the state about $51 million and fulfill a campaign promise Reeves made for a $4,300 teacher pay raise while running for governor in 2019. He caught some criticism from teacher advocates last year when he didn’t include any teacher raise in his state budget recommendation.

“I believe merit must be rewarded,” Reeves said Thursday, after praising teachers for soldiering through the COVID-19 pandemic. “… While some teachers in some other states kept kids chained to laptops or cell phones and pretended it was school, Mississippi insisted on in-person instruction. Other states said, ‘We can’t,’ but Mississippi teachers said, ‘We can.’”

Reeves said he’s fiscally conservative and “spending tax money on new things is not my nature, but education attainment is my priority.”

“I think it’s wrong for us not to demonstrate that we appreciate Mississippi teachers,” Reeves said during the annual political speakings that resumed this year after being canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reeves chided “local media” for saying Mississippi has the lowest teacher pay in the nation. When adjusted for cost of living, Reeves said, Mississippi’s teacher pay is only the 37^th lowest, and with the raise he’s proposing it would move to 21^st.

A recent analysis from the Southern Regional Education Board found Mississippi teachers’ beginning salary and take-home pay for early and mid-career teachers are take home pay is “extremely low” compared to other Southern states, and teachers here make about 15% less than their similarly-educated peers in other jobs in the state.

“It will help us attract the top-tier teachers that our kids deserve,” Reeves said.

Of the governor’s proposed pay raise, Mississippi Association of Educators President Erica Jones said, “We’re pleased that Gov. Reeves intends to deliver on the pay raise plan he campaigned on in 2019. We look forward to working with the governor and other state leaders to see that promise through. Facing a teacher shortage crisis and an average teacher salary that lags behind our neighboring states by between four and seven thousand dollars, we cannot afford to continue down the current path of piecemeal pay raise legislation. Mississippi’s hardworking educators deserve better.”

Many education groups have been at odds with Reeves because of his failure to advocate in last year’s budget proposal for a teacher pay raise and for his refusal to impose a mask mandate in schools this year to combat COVID-19. Reeves has held firm in his opposition to a mask mandate despite rising COVID-19 cases, including among children.

Reeves criticized the Centers for Disease Control’s new mask recommendations.

READ MORE: Back to masking: CDC recommends even the vaccinated should wear masks in public indoor spaces

“Tuesday’s change in the CDC’s mask guidance is foolish and harmful and it reeks of political panic to appear that they are in control,” Reeves said. “It has nothing to do with rational science … In Mississippi, we believe in freedom.”

Reeves praised former President Donald Trump for helping deliver vaccines through “Operation Warp Speed,” but did not make any plea for more Mississippians to get vaccinated as other governors have recently amid a new surge of COVID-19 cases.

READ MORE: Other governors use bully pulpits, incentives to urge vaccination. Where’s Gov. Reeves?

He said “1.2 million Mississippians have chosen to get vaccinated. Others have chosen a different path. I will always defend those people’s right to decide what is best for them and their families.”

Besides teacher pay, focus at the annual political event also centered in on critical race theory, which has been vehemently opposed by many conservatives nationwide in recent months.

Both Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn in their Thursday Neshoba stump speeches vowed to fight next year against critical race theory being taught in Mississippi schools.

Reeves called it “the latest, dumbest idea coming from the East and West coasts.”

“Some of these Ivy League liberals are the dumbest smart people in the world,” Reeves said. “In what world is it OK to teach children that they are born racist? In what world is it OK to tell children they will be judged by the color of their skin and not the content of their character … In Mississippi, our kids should be learning STEM education, not Dem education.”

In some parts of the country schools have come under attack because of their efforts to ensure students have a true understanding of American history, including the multiple instances of racism and oppression, and for discussing with students how racism has shaped public policy and events from past to present.

During a recent interview on conservative leaning SuperTalk radio, Mississippi Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said basic history and social studies are being taught in Mississippi schools.

“I have not heard anything about that in K-12,” she said when asked about critical race theory. “That’s not risen its head. I have not had letters. I’ve not had emails about that. We got our standards, our social studies standards which are based on the history of the United States, and that’s already been out there; it has been out for public comment. It is black and white in terms of facts.

“I have not had anybody express concern about that being taught.”

Still, Reeves said he plans to push lawmakers again next year to approve his “Patriotic Education Fund,” which failed to pass this year. He had proposed $3 million to financially reward schools that combat “revisionist history.” He said Thursday that his plan would promote teaching of “the incredible accomplishments of the American Way.”

Gunn, who focused much of his speech on the dangers of socialism, also vowed to prohibit teaching of critical race theory, which he called “an attempt to reintroduce racism back into our schools and un-do all the progress we have made.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t take the chance on critical race theory,” Gunn said. “… Socialists seek to turn Americans against each other and against this country by introducing critical race theory in our schools … We cannot allow our schools to teach that one race is better than another. Those days are behind us.”

Of critical race theory, Jones of MAE said, “No matter color, background, or zip code, we want our kids to have an education that imparts honesty about who we are. We will always support the rights of educators to teach history, social studies, and civics in a way that deepens students’ understanding of the world around them and broadens their perspective.”

She said school funding is a bigger impact on the quality of education in the state.

“We hear from educators from across Mississippi all the time. And when they call our office, it’s not to take issue with the state’s history curriculum; it’s to tell us they lack basic resources and feel unheard and unsupported,” Jones said. “We’re far more concerned with educators teaching in schools that, as a result of inadequate funding, lack textbooks and paper or pencils and chalk, and deal with toilets that don’t function or window units that are broken when school starts in August.”

The post Reeves promises teacher pay raises in Neshoba stump speech appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi doesn’t have a clear workforce development plan yet, but the state has found its playbook’s author in Ryan Miller. 

Miller, head of a new state agency tasked with leading more Mississippians to skill training and well-paying jobs, has a monumental challenge ahead. Not only will he build an office from the ground up, but state leaders are looking to his guidance to address Mississippi’s most pressing economic problems. 

The state continues to be one of the poorest in the country with some of the lowest average wages to match. 

Mississippi may spend $350 million a year in state and federal funds on workforce development and job training, but that money is spread across a dozen agencies and within even more separate programs. Progress, or the lack thereof, has been difficult to track, stunting the state in its efforts to grow the number of Mississippians working or seeking jobs. 

“It’s not just the left hand not talking to the right hand,” said Miller, who spent the last 13 years leading the manufacturing center at The University of Mississippi. “It’s that the left hand doesn’t even know that the right hand exists.” 

While some states have had formal workforce development offices to assess labor needs and guide people to in-demand skills for decades, Mississippi didn’t pass legislation to create its own until last year. There has never been any one repository for that information and no clear structure to determine if investments are paying off and leading people to better jobs. 

Now there is Miller’s 3-month-old office, recently named Accelerate Mississippi. 

Gov. Tate Reeves has touted the importance of getting Mississipians great jobs since taking office. 

As recently as June, the governor told the crowd at the annual Mississippi Economic Council meeting in Jackson that the state’s economic focus was on job training and keeping skilled workers from leaving the state. In the same speech, he shared his confidence in the new office and in Miller.

“I think this is going to be a real game changer,” he said of Accelerate Mississippi. 

Mississippi has long struggled to raise its labor participation rate, which has remained around 56% for the last several months. That percentage accounts for how many of-age Mississippians are either working or looking for work. Mississippi’s rate, even before the pandemic, has regularly ranked in last place in the U.S. 

While lawmakers outlined some of the new office’s roles, the structure, personnel and overall reach will largely be left to Miller’s vision. With so much of the workforce and Mississippi businesses still recovering from the pandemic, a lot rides on how the state navigates its current labor shortcomings. 

“The name we came up with denotes we’re ready to run a marathon,” said Miller, 42. “And we have to start running.” 

The father of three packed up his life in Oxford and resettled his family in Jackson. Accelerate Mississippi has a temporary space in the same building as the governor’s office. 

Since assuming his role in April, Miller has racked up hundreds of miles on his Hyundai Tuscon criss-crossing the state to meet with CEOs and tour community college campuses. 

Accelerate Mississippi has launched a website and social media accounts. Miller brought on two employees and started mapping out his method of better connecting the needs of the state by separating it into eight districts he calls ecosystems. Each will eventually have their own local office.

“Right now, I’m trying to get the word out: Accelerate Mississippi is positioned to serve you,” he said. “This is designed to be a one-stop entity.” 

The office, Miller added, will be an easy contact for businesses considering expanding to the state, looking to see the state’s labor outlook; a partner for community colleges as they create programs to train for the most in-demand skilled jobs; a resource for high schoolers or Mississippians seeking pathways to a better career. 

“We need diesel technicians,” Miller said, as an example. “There are companies in Mississippi right now that would hire as many as they could get.”

Those positions require training at community colleges that can be finished within two semesters and pay upwards of $60,000 a year starting out. Yet, the pool of qualified Mississippi workers isn’t there. 

The demand for diesel technicians, who work on diesel-powered engines, is an opportunity to grow skilled workers the state has been leaving on the table, said Patrick Sullivan, the president of the Mississippi Energy Institute and chair of the State Workforce Investment Board. 

“We have been talking about it for a year now,” he said, referring to the demand for the specialized mechanics. “So the question is what are we going to do about it? Now that we have a lead office, somebody with financial resources at hand, that can work with training providers and colleges to put togethers strategies and hit set targets.” 

When Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann took office, every agency reported they were doing workforce development.

But Hosemann realized there was no accounting of those programs. Legislators and state leaders had no way of deeming which programs were successfully leading Mississippians to better jobs and which ones were failing. 

“There are a lot of different funding programs, different funding partners and employer partners,” said Sullivan, whose workforce board appointed Miller. “There’s a number of success stories but there has been a real lack of coordination across all these different parts and pieces.” 

Hosemann and legislators pushed to create a workforce development office to address that. Miller and Accelerate Mississippi will give a workforce report to the governor, Hosemann and others ahead of the next legislative session. 

“We want to coordinate program dollars to job training that is producing graduates with a positive economic life,” Hosemann said. “A lot of people are talking about workforce development. It’s become a political fixture. But we need good information about which programs are performing well.”

That report will not only cover how the several millions of dollars allocated to workforce training through Mississippi’s Workforce Enhancement Training and Mississippi Works are spent, but also whether the funded programs add value to the economy or increase the number of workers in the labor force, according to the legislation.

It will also assess how many workers the funded programs expected to train and how many were actually trained. 

“I want to follow the numbers and see where we have the gaps,” Hosemann said. 

Every state was mandated by federal law to set up a workforce investment board. Mississippi’s board is made up of 31 business leaders and public officials who meet to discuss ways to drive the state’s economic development.

Mississippi lawmakers approved funding for the board through payroll taxes in 2014 so it could support staff positions, Sullivan said. That administrative account is now what funds Accelerate Mississippi. Miller’s salary is $162,000. The funding is set up to be used to support adding positions, something Sullivan said the board and Miller will determine as the office grows. 

The executive committee was looking for a workforce office director who was a strong communicator, analytical, worked well with people, had a background in public policy and understood industry needs. 

“Also someone who has the intestinal fortitude to drive change where it’s needed,” Sullivan said. “When you consider all those requirements for the job, there are only so many people on Earth who are qualified. Ryan is one of them.” 

Miller spent his entire career at The University of Mississippi. He majored in international studies as an undergrad there and then earned a law degree. He worked in the admissions office and eventually wound up at the helm of the university’s Center of Manufacturing Excellence.

In that job, he worked closely with industry, nonprofits and other colleges to grow work opportunities in Mississippi. He also knew how to have fun, regularly pulling out his guitar to perform impromptu concerts in the campus hallways. 

“He really personifies the idea of the servant leader,” said Scott Kilpatrick, who worked alongside Miller at the university manufacturing center. “He’s not one to go out and bang his own drum. He puts others first and has that servant-first heart.” 

Miller’s toothy grin stretches across his face when he starts talking about growing the state’s workforce and helping them land better jobs. He’s proud to have spent most of his life in Mississippi. He wants to see the economic opportunities grow, for Mississippians to feel confident they can stay here and prosper. 

He is as much for celebrating the state’s successes as he is addressing its shortcomings. 

“There is always a way in which we can do things better,” Miller said. “We’re never done.” 

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Oklahoma and Texas are headed to the SEC, and college football, as we know it, faces a huge landscape change over the next few years. How does this affect Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss? What happens to the old Big 12, which was actually numbered 10 and is not only eight? What other changes are in store?

Stream all episodes here.

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