OurTupelo

Here we go!

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Legislative leaders appear to agree that Mississippi’s long-neglected state parks need help, but while the Senate is pushing for privatization and turning parks over to local governments, the House wants to find a permanent stream of public funding.

“What that tells me is that the House and Senate agree it’s an issue,” said Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who oversees the Senate and said fixing the Mississippi’s dilapidated state parks is a priority. “We’ll all get together on this.”

Mississippi’s state parks have suffered from years of neglected maintenance and budget cuts to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks. The price tag to bring the state’s 25 parks (three of which are run by local governments) up to snuff is an estimated $147 million. Plus, millions more a year would be needed to keep them up — prompting discussion of privatization and a search for other options.

READ MORE: Lawmakers consider privatizing Mississippi’s dilapidated, underfunded state parks.

Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Chairman Neil Whaley, R-Potts Camp, with Hosemann’s backing has authored Senate Bill 2486 that would leave only four state parks under MDWFP management: Holmes County, Leroy Percy, LeFleur’s Bluff and Shepard. Others would be leased to private entities, turned over to counties or cities or converted to wildlife conservation areas.

Hosemann said many parks could benefit from “an infusion of knowledge and capital” from privatization.

But privatization of parks has drawn fierce debate nationwide and in Mississippi. Opponents fear private developers would “cherry pick” the best state parks that could turn profits leaving others neglected, or that privatization would turn parks into expensive resorts and limit public access.

House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Chairman Bill Kinkade’s committee has moved forward two measures. One, House Bill 152, would divert $3.5 million a year in state lottery money to a “deferred maintenance” plan for parks. Another, House Bill 1231, would divert about a million a year in sales taxes collected at sporting goods stores to a new “Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund,” with the fund capped at $20 million. Kinkade said other measures, such as bond or borrowing bills for parks, will likely be considered this year.

Kinkade said he is trying to provide dedicated sources of funding for parks maintenance and to match federal funds as many other states do. He said the Senate plan appears “short sighted.”

“All (the Senate) is giving is a partial privatization plan,” Kinkade said. “That’s not a long-term strategic plan. I don’t want to send bad smoke signals about us not looking at their proposal, but I am concerned about it being a short-sighted plan. These state parks belong to the people of this state … It’s an issue of conservation of our natural resources.”

The lottery parks bill, authored by Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, originally called for diverting 10% of lottery proceeds to parks, but Kinkade said that is being pared down to $3.5 million.

Current law dedicates up to $80 million a year in state lottery proceeds to road and bridge funding, with any additional going to an education fund. The lottery hasn’t operated for a full fiscal year yet, but for its first eight months the state netted more than $70 million and has recently been averaging about $10 million a week.

Kinkade said he has met with House education, appropriations and transportation leaders and they’ve approved of the parks diversion of lottery money. He noted that state parks include about 85 miles of roads and bridges — a large part of the maintenance cost that would be in line with the intent of the lottery law to fund infrastructure.

Kinkade said Mississippi parks need a dedicated source of money for maintenance and improvements.

This comes as other states cash in on state park tourism, with the COVID-19 pandemic driving demand for RV-ing, camping and outdoor vacationing and recreation.

Mississippi receives about 1 million visitors to its parks each year. Arkansas state parks attract nearly 8.5 million visitors a year and serve as the state’s largest tourism draw, generating more than $1 billion a year for that state’s economy. Alabama sees nearly 5 million visitors to its parks annually, with an economic impact of about $375 million.

In Arkansas, parks are funded through a dedicated “conservation tax.” In Alabama, parks are 90% self-funded through fees and rentals. Mississippi parks lack an adequate dedicated funding source.

Kinkade said Georgia has a trust fund for parks similar to the one being proposed here.

Louie Miller, director of the Sierra Club of Mississippi, blasted the Senate parks privatization proposal as “draconian,” and a move to “dismantle our park system.”

“It’s an absolute step in the wrong direction,” Miller said. “We won’t recognize our state park system if this passes.”

Miller said the legal definition of public trust doctrine — for things such as public parks — is that they are preserved for public use and that the government owns, protects and maintains them.

Miller said the House move to find permanent funding for parks “is a step in the right direction.”

Hosemann said that, as former secretary of state, he has a record of championing public lands as he led the state’s acquisition of Cat Island off the Coast and thousands of acres statewide. He said he would oppose any privatization that restricted public access to parks or raised prices drastically. On Thursday he said that he supports the current Senate proposal to have some privatization of park operations, but that he would oppose selling any park lands to private entities.

The post Privatize Mississippi state parks or fund them? House, Senate at odds. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Lawmakers are considering withdrawing the state from the liquor and wine business, letting private industry take over warehousing and distributing liquor — something the state has struggled to do efficiently.

The Legislature is also considering allowing home delivery of liquor, wine and beer, similar to delivery services for groceries and restaurant takeout that have become popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both measures appear to have traction in the Legislature this session, even in a Bible Belt state that has been slow to relax or change its strict liquor laws.

“The time has come that we address these issues,” House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar said of the move to privatize liquor distribution. “… I happen to believe that it is not a core function of government to run a liquor warehouse … If it were done today, if it were day one, we would never put government in charge of liquor. How do we unwind it? That’s where it gets a little hard.”

Mississippi is one of 17 states that tightly control the sale of liquor, and one of 10 that sell spirits to all private package stores. Seven directly own all the liquor stores in their states.

Mississippi’s warehouse and distribution, run by the Alcoholic Beverage Control division of the Department of Revenue, has for years struggled to keep up with demand and new products and its warehouse is too small and antiquated. Lawmakers have been reluctant to sink money into upgrades of the warehouse and system. Upgrading the state’s warehouse and distribution system would cost taxpayers an estimated $40 million.

House Bill 997, which passed Ways and Means and is before the full House, would allow private distributors to come in and take over distribution and warehousing of liquor and wine.

Lamar said that “on paper,” it would look like the state would lose millions in revenue from privatization, but he believes state coffers will instead see increases.

Mississippi marks up the liquor it sells to package stores and bars by 27.5%, which Lamar said brings in about $80 million. The new legislation would reduce that state markup 18% as private distributors take over.

“On paper, it would drop to about $55 million,” Lamar said. “However, we’ve received commitments from three major wholesalers that we know will enter this state. They will buy and construct large warehouses, and hire 100 to 200 employees each. Plus we’ll see smaller wholesalers. So we will have multiple investments, including 500 to 1,000 new jobs.

“Plus, the private sector will be able to properly meet demand, unlike we’ve been doing,” Lamar said. “I believe it would be sound policy to expect with the demand met, we would see more than we are collecting now. I believe a conservative estimate would be $100 million or more a year.”

Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Charleston, told Lamar, “This is a great bill. The only problem I see is that we should have done it 40 years ago. We’ve wasted a lot of time and money.”

Rep. Kevin Horan, R-Grenada, offered a successful amendment to the bill to provide pricing protection for package stores. It would prohibit private distributors from making sweetheart pricing deals with particular stores or chains and require them to offer uniform pricing to all stores.

Rep. Jerry Turner, R-Baldwyn, said he believes privatization is the right move, but he would like to see taxpayers’ decades long investment reimbursed by private industry.

“I think (distribution) should go through a public bid process — not just give it away,” Turner said. “Taxpayers have invested in this for many years, and they need to see a return on it.”

Senate Bill 2804 and its mirror House Bill 1135 would allow private delivery companies — such as Shipt and Instacart — to bring liquor, wine and beer to consumers 21 and older at their homes.

Both the Senate Finance committee and House Ways and Means committee passed the measures on to their full chambers.

Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, author of the Senate measure, said the deliveries would be similar to grocery deliveries that have become more popular during the pandemic. He said deliveries could not be made to people in dry jurisdictions, nor could purchases be made after hours for liquor stores.

The post Lawmakers want to privatize Mississippi liquor sales, allow home delivery appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The monthly benefit for a family receiving welfare benefits through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program would be increased from $170 per month to $260 for a family of three if legislation approved Wednesday by the Mississippi Senate Public Health Committee becomes law.

“We are in the midst of this pandemic,” Department of Human Services Executive Director Bob Anderson told the Public Health Committee Wednesday afternoon. “We think this is an opportune time to provide this assistance for our TANF families… for the poorest of the poor in our state.”

The bill that passed the Senate committee on Wednesday will next be considered by the full Senate. If it passes there, it will be to the House for consideration.

Anderson also pointed out the monthly benefits for Mississippi’s TANF recipients have not been increased since 1999 and are significantly lower than the benefits recipients are receiving in contiguous states.

The $260 per month for a family of three would be higher than the benefits for all of the surrounding states except Tennessee, which provides $277 per month. Arkansas is the lowest at $204. In Mississippi, the family would receive an additional $24 per month for each child increasing the size of the family by more than three.

The increase will not cost the state any money. TANF, a program designed to provide benefits for needy children under the age of 18, is paid for with federal funds, though the state Legislature sets the amount of the benefits.

The increase in benefits comes on the heels of the former DHS Director John Davis and others being indicted on charges related to siphoning off the TANF money designed to help “the poorest of the poor” for personal use. State Auditor Shad White alleges that millions in TANF funds were being directed to nonprofits that were supposed to provide services for the needy, but instead the funds being diverted for personal use.

READ MORE: Complete coverage of the alleged TANF embezzlement scandal.

The state receives a federal grant each year of $86.5 million for TANF. Of that amount, $30 million is diverted to Child Protections Services that oversees the state’s foster child program.

While Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation, only between 2,500-3,000 families are normally in the TANF program, Anderson said. In addition to increasing the benefits, if the Legislature agrees, he also said that the agency will be looking at the eligibility requirements for TANF.

During the committee hearing, Public Health Chair Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, asked if the increase could go into effect upon passage of the bill instead of July 1. Anderson said the agency has the funds to pay immediately for the increase and voiced support for Bryan’s proposal, which was approved by the full committee.

Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, asked Anderson if DHS could use some of the excess TANF funds to help with food insecurity in the state during the pandemic. Anderson said TANF funds would not be diverted to food insecurity issues, but he said other federal funds were designated for that purpose. He said his agency was requesting an increase in federal funds for food insecurity.

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We begin with his name: Sekou. Sekou Smith. “Sekou” is of African origin, from the Fula language. It means “wise” and “educated.”

Sekou Smith, who died Tuesday at age 48 of COVID-19, was both wise and educated. He was also generous, thoughtful, loyal, always engaging, witty and thoroughly dependable. His death has left a hole in the soul of his legions of friends, this one included.

Nevertheless, when I think of him, I smile – probably because he always did, every time I saw him.

I smile thinking about how so many Mississippi ball coaches struggled with his name over the years.

This was Jackie Sherrill: “I like him. Nice kid. I like the way he writes. But how do you say his name?”

At various times, I heard it pronounced See-Que, Say-Cow, See-Cow, to name a few. If it bothered Sekou (SAY-koo), he never let on.

Sekou grew up in Grand Rapids, Mich., but his family had some Mississippi roots. His daddy wanted him to experience an HBCU education. So it was that he came to Jackson State.

At the Clarion Ledger, he was a newspaper version of a walk-on. He came in as part of the high school statistics team that flooded into the sports department on Friday nights, working for minimum wage, to take football reports on the phone. He was studying mass communications at JSU and he was like a sponge, soaking up sports and newspaper knowledge with a seemingly endless thirst.

You could tell early on Sekou was a keeper. Then-sports editor Donald Dodd hired him full-time as part of an award-winning high school coverage staff. In those days, we covered high school sports the way the morning dew covers springtime Mississippi. Sekou became a valuable reporter, who quickly earned the trust of high school coaches and administrators across the state.

Sekou could write and he had a knack for finding the most interesting part of any game and making it an easy read. He was a really good storyteller. He didn’t let the keyboard get in his way. He didn’t try to impress you with flowery prose; no, he just told the story. Readers appreciated him. So did his editors.

He graduated to the Mississippi State beat, reluctantly as I remember.

“I just love the high school beat so much,” he told me.

“You can always go back to it,” I told him.

He never did.

Covering Mississippi State, he made his mark. His news stories were incisive. His features always hit the mark. He told you what you needed to know.

“You could trust Sekou,” former Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton says. “He was always fair. You might not always like everything he wrote, but you always knew he would be fair. And he was just such a good person. How could anyone not like Sekou?”

Answer: You could not. And if you did, the problem was with you, not him.

His reputation quickly outgrew Mississippi. Offers began to come in from all over. He moved to Indianapolis to cover the Pacers and then to Atlanta to cover the Hawks. Pretty soon, he became one of the reputable reporters covering the NBA. He became more than a print journalist. His vibrant personality and smile made him a natural for TV. Turner Sports hired him as a TV analyst for both the network and for NBA.com.

It has been a joy to witness. The praise Sekou received nationally sounds amazingly similar to what we would hear about him here in Mississippi covering the high school and Mississippi State beats.

Google him today, and you’ll see.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: “The NBA mourns the passing of Sekou Smith, a beloved member of the NBA family. Sekou was one of the most affable and dedicated reporters in the NBA and a terrific friend of so many across the league. Sekou’s love of basketball was clear to everyone who knew him and it always shined through in his work. Our heartfelt condolences go to his wife, Heather, and their children, Gabriel, Rielly and Cameron.”

Silver’s comments were echoed across the league by coaches, players and administrators. Stan Van Gundy, coach of the New Orleans Pelicans: “I got to know him well enough to know three things – I was lucky to spend time with him, I wanted to know him better and he was a good man.”

Sekou, quite simply, was one of best guys ever. Whether in Madison Square Garden or a rural Mississippi gym, the authentic goodness of Sekou Smith was unmistakable.

The post Sekou Smith, who died of COVID-19 at age 48, left his mark on Mississippi appeared first on Mississippi Today.

I’ve done dozens obituary cartoons over the years but I can’t remember doing one that hurt this much to draw. The late NBA analyst Sekou Smith once worked at the Clarion Ledger and when he did, he sat a few desks away from me. It was fairly early in his career but it was very obvious that he had he the chops and personality to go to the very top — which he did. You knew when Sekou entered the room — there’d be laughter (he had a great laugh and smile) and jokes. He just filled the room. What you saw on television was who he was — he was a good friend, father, husband and son.

He was just a good guy. And with this drawing, I tried to capture how he lit up a room.

I kept in touch with Sekou through the magic of Facebook. He lived in the Atlanta area, near where my family lives. Earlier last year, we had planned on having lunch the next time I was in town. I wanted my son, who loves NBA basketball and broadcasting to meet Sekou. Unfortunately, the pandemic delayed and now has permanently ended those plans. One of the last conversations we had was about another former coworker who had died young because of cancer. He was stunned.

Just as I am by his passing.

COVID-19 took a bright star from us. And I’ll admit, his passing hit me kind of hard. Yes, we haven’t worked together for a long time and I haven’t seen him except on TV in a while. But in this time when we need more people like Sekou Smith, it just hurts to lose one of the very few that we have.

My prayers go out to his family. I know they are devastated like so many families are during this Godawful pandemic. The best I can offer for us to be a little more like Sekou. Laugh. Smile. Do your job well. Love. Care. And change the world.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Sekou Smith appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Schools in Mississippi are about to see a large influx of federal dollars from a second federal coronavirus relief bill passed in December. 

The second wave of funding allocated for Mississippi is nearly three times the amount the state received last year from the education portion of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 

In December, Congress passed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA), another stimulus package totaling almost $900 billion. Of that, nearly $82 billion is set aside for the Education Stabilization Fund, the bucket of money designated for K-12 schools and colleges and universities. 

A total of $54 billion is for K-12 schools across the nation, and $23 billion goes to postsecondary institutions. Governors will receive $4.1 billion and the remainder will go to the Bureau of Indian Education. Mississippi will receive a total of $1 billion. 

This money is divided into the same categories as CARES education funds: The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund II, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II, and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund II. 

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund II

These dollars go directly to the Mississippi Department of Education, which subgrants the funds to school districts. The funding amount the state received was calculated using the same formula used to determine Title I funding, which are federal dollars given to schools with a high number of low-income students enrolled.

Around $720 million is slated for Mississippi for K-12 schools, compared to around $170 million the state received from CARES in 2020. 

Up to 10% of the second round of funding, or about $72 million, can go to the Mississippi Department of Education, and the remainder must go directly to schools. 

Public schools can use the money for similar expenses as they did for CARES Act, in addition to two new allowable expenses. Those include administrative and employment costs, coordinating preparedness and response efforts with other entities, addressing the needs of disadvantaged populations, purchasing technology and providing mental health services and support.

They may also use these funds to address student learning loss as a result of the pandemic and for repairing and improving school facilities to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

A district by district breakdown of this funding is not yet available.

This money must be awarded by the state education department to districts by January 2022, and the funds must be spent by Sept. 30, 2023. 

Last year, the Mississippi Department of Education used CARES funds to launch its Mississippi Connects program, which provided a device to every public school student in the state. It also includes funding for improved connectivity for school districts, professional development for teachers and expanded access to telehealth for students.

Schools, which have until September of 2022 to spend CARES money, have used funds they received for purchasing personal protective equipment, hiring school nurses and other materials necessary during and after the pandemic. Some schools also put a portion of these funds to fulfill the matching requirement for the devices purchased under Mississippi Connects.

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II

Approximately $246 million was awarded to Mississippi colleges, universities and occupational schools, compared to about $149 million awarded under CARES. As of November last year, postsecondary schools in Mississippi have spent just under 60% of their CARES dollars.

The second stimulus includes two key changes that will allow more students to qualify for money. First, the U.S. Department of Education is no longer limiting aid to Pell Grant recipients like it did with CARES. Second, online-only students, who did not qualify for CARES, are now eligible for emergency student aid.

Colleges and universities are required to spend at least the same amount on student aid as they did under CARES, which can be used for food, housing, course materials, technology, health care or child care. The remaining portion can be put towards institutional expenses from COVID-19, such as lost revenue, payroll and technology costs. 

Community colleges were also awarded more money this time due to a new funding formula that placed greater weight on an institution’s total number of students. 

Occupational schools must spend all their funds on student aid. 

A majority of these funds were made available in mid-January, and a second bucket of additional money will soon be allocated to historically Black colleges and universities. Colleges and universities have a year to spend these funds. 

The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund II

This pot of money is distributed to governors, who have broad flexibility to determine how to meet the needs of students and schools, postsecondary institutions and education organizations impacted by COVID-19. The governor will receive an additional $46 million during this round of funding, and $31 million of that must go to private and independent schools.

Last year, GEER funding in Mississippi totaled about $34 million. The governor’s office is still awarding those funds.

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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.

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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.

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