OurTupelo

A former adviser to President Donald Trump took his first stab Monday at questioning Mississippi’s former welfare director, the federal government’s star witness in an ongoing trial of a former pro wrestler accused of theft. 

Eric Herschmann, the Austin-based ex-Trump adviser who recently took over as lead attorney for defendant Ted “Teddy” DiBiase Jr., didn’t grill John Davis so much as paint the disgraced ex-welfare director as a well-meaning bureaucrat surrounded by enablers. 

Then-Gov. Phil Bryant nominated Davis to lead the Mississippi Department of Human Services in 2016 and the agency racked up $100 million in questioned purchases in a 2019 audit. Davis pleaded guilty to state and federal conspiracy charges in 2022 and he awaits sentencing as he cooperates with prosecutors in DiBiase’s case.

Herschmann asked Davis about requests he received from Gov. Bryant’s wife, Deborah Bryant, such as for help building a palliative care facility – a project that planners initially considered funding with welfare dollars and naming after the first lady but was later taken on by University of Mississippi Medical Center and named after a former state lawmaker. The lawyer evoked scenes of lawmakers calling on Davis to discuss ways to improve their communities.

“Sometimes you would listen to what they said?” Herschmann asked, “Because you thought it was the right thing to do?”

Yes, Davis responded, and Herschmann continued: “You always tried to do the right thing?”

“I don’t want to sit here and act like I’m an innocent person,” Davis said. “I tried to do my very best.”

Herschmann asked if Davis ever met alone with people who sought his agency’s support, and Davis said he always had attorneys in tow. “Because that way you have a witness,” Herschmann added.

In the government’s opening statements in the DiBiase trial last month, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie called Davis the “big villain in this case.” Davis was instrumental in pushing $3 million in federal funds from his agency to DiBiase through what prosecutors call  “sham contracts,” while DiBiase argues he was a lawful contractor. 

DiBiase, a WWE wrestler-turned-motivational-speaker, is facing 13 criminal counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, theft of federal funds and money laundering in a broader alleged scheme to raid the state’s federal public assistance agency. 

Meynardie said DiBiase showered affection on Davis, and in turn, Davis showered him with taxpayer money, most of which flowed through agreements with two nonprofits selected to privatize the state’s welfare delivery system. The prosecutor also said one of the nonprofit directors, Christie Webb, will testify that she only inked the deals with DiBiase under duress, and that when she finally pushed back, she was punished.

Webb hasn’t testified yet, but Davis rejected this telling on the stand Monday. Funding cuts to Webb’s organization were due to a government shutdown and other funding shortfalls, Davis said, and he never intended to retaliate against her. Davis also said Webb had secretly recorded him.

When the jig was up in June of 2019, Davis said the first call he got was from Republican Gov. Bryant, who summoned Davis to his office. Davis testified Monday that the governor told him the people of Mississippi would be disappointed, because they’d thought they’d had a “great Christian guy leading DHS.”

After that meeting, auditors began digging into Davis’ dealings, starting with his work with a couple of wrestlers – DiBiase and his younger brother Brett DiBiase, who pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge in 2023.

But Davis testified that he never received a kickback. Sure, the nonprofit directors once gave him a $500 gift card for Christmas, but “you weren’t soliciting” Herschmann asked, and Davis said no. 

The older DiBiase brother’s trial, which began Jan. 6, had a five-week delay after the lead defense attorney, Scott Gilbert, experienced a health issue on Jan. 14 while cross examining Davis. DiBiase’s team asked for a mistrial, and U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves rejected the request. 

Herschmann, who joined DiBiase’s case shortly before trial began, is familiar with the facts of the larger welfare scandal because he represents retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre in the welfare department’s ongoing civil lawsuit over the alleged misspending.

DiBiase primarily retained Herschmann to examine one witness, former deputy state auditor Stephanie Palmertree, whom the attorney has repeatedly alleged fabricated evidence to the government – which her lawyer denied. After Gilbert’s medical incident, Reeves appointed Herschmann as a court-funded fulltime lawyer for DiBiase.

Gilbert, who is seeking election for a circuit court judge seat in Rankin and Madison counties, was not in court Monday. Herschmann again argued for a mistrial, saying he had scheduling conflicts and that it would be impossible for another attorney to become familiar with the case any time soon. There are, after all, at least 6 million pages of evidence associated with the case.

“This case is pregnant with text messages. There’s text messages everywhere,” Reeves said at one point, referencing a dispute between parties over the formatting differences between documents gathered by each side.

In response to the defense’s mistrial attempt, the prosecution noted how many resources the court had already used to bring the case this far.

“Starting over is a big deal, and it’s going to be very hard to pick another jury,” U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney Adrienne Rosen said. 

Reeves determined Herschmann and Gilbert’s co-counsel, Sidney Lampton, could adequately represent DiBiase for the remainder of trial beginning Monday. 

The prosecution said it hoped to finish with its witnesses by the end of this week, at which point the defense will have its turn. There could be more hiccups before the widely anticipated resolution of the DiBiase case – the only criminal case within the welfare scandal to go to trial so far. Herschmann said he had a planned religious trip to Israel next week, and Reeves is scheduled to be out the second week of March. 

Lawyers have said roughly 100 potential witnesses could be called. So far, the prosecution has only reached its fourth witness, Davis. He is expected to return to the stand Tuesday.

Two weekends into it, the college baseball season is but a puppy. Nevertheless, we can make at least one observation:

Our Mississippi teams have really high ceilings. They can play ball. Omaha is not out of the question for any of the three.

Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss, all nationally ranked in all polls, are a combined  22-1. State and Ole Miss are both 8-0, albeit against lesser competition. Southern Miss, playing top shelf foes early, is 6-1, has won six straight and this past weekend won the prestigious Round Rock Classic, knocking off Purdue, traditional powerhouse Oregon State and Baylor on consecutive days.

Let’s take a look, shall we?

State readies for big weekend

Brian O’Connor’s first Diamond Dogs came into the season with sky-high expectations and have done nothing to dash those. Led by slugging third baseman Ace Reese, the Bulldogs are hitting .341 as a team with eight home runs through eight games.

For his part, Reese is hitting .500 with two dingers and seven doubles. Perhaps the more pertinent news is that State pitching had one a much better job of throwing strikes in the early going, fanning 101 batters while walking only 22, a nearly 5-to-1 ratio. Opponents are hitting only .204

All this comes with this caveat: Troy, a traditionally strong program off to a disappointing 3-4 start, is by far the best foe the Bulldogs have played. State has sandwiched weekend sweeps of Hofstra and Delaware around midweek victories over Troy and Alcorn State.

The competition level rises exponentially this weekend when State goes to the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Arlington, Texas, to face Arizona State, Virginia Tech and No. 1 ranked UCLA on consecutive days. We will know much more then.

And then, two days after squaring off against No. 1, the Bulldogs will play Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. We’ll know even more.

State opens the SEC season March 13 at Arkansas.

Ole Miss has nation’s best albeit-too-early RPI

Badly underrated (at least in my opinion) in preseason polls, Ole Miss has started fast and even ranks No. 1 in much-too-early power ratings (ratings percentage index, or RPI). The Rebels have weekend sweeps of Nevada and a good Missouri State program and two mid-week wins over Arkansas State and Jackson State.

Similarly to State, the competition gets a lot better fast. The Rebels will play Baylor, Ohio State and Coastal Carolina in the Bruce Bolt College Classic this weekend in Houston. Yes, we’ll know a lot more about the Rebels, too.

What we know for certain now is that Ole Miss has left-handed ace Hunter Elliott back for Friday nights, and if he’s not the most accomplished college baseball lefty in the land, he’s in the first sentence of any discussion. 

What we also know is that the Rebels will continue to live and die with the long ball. You wouldn’t want to play them in Home Run Derby.

Ole Miss has already hit 15 dingers, led by Judd Uttermark’s six. That’s right: six, in eight games. The beer showers are coming early and often in Oxford. 

The Uber-strong Uttermark, who hit 22 homers last year, crushed one over the left-field wall Sunday into a howling north wind, a rare feat at Swayze Field. As Mike Bianco put it, “When he hit it I just stood there. Judd is a little different human being than most who play here.”

Ole Miss begins its SEC schedule March 13 at Texas.

Southern Miss sweeps at Round Rock

Chris Ostrander’s Golden Eagles lost their season opener to Cal-Santa Barbara and their All-American ace Jackson Flora. Since then, Southern Miss has reeled off six straight wins against formidable foes. At Round Rock, the Eagles toppled Purdue 5-4, No. 11 Oregon State (three national championships in the last two decades) 9-4 and Baylor 5-1. Five, if not all six, of the Eagles’ victories have come against teams likely to be playing in the post-season.

The early hitting star has been senior Joey Urban, who has used the whole field, from foul line to foul line, for a .458 average (with two homers and a triple) against mostly top-notch pitching. He leads the team in batting average, hits, slugging percentage and walks.

As Joe Paul, Southern Miss president and perhaps its No. 1 baseball fan, puts it: “Joey Urban is a professional hitter.”

The Golden Eagles are deep, both in the everyday lineup and on the mound. One stat Ostrander, a pitching guru, probably doesn’t like is that pitching has allowed 25 walks and hit nine batters in just the seven games. But, again, you have to consider the competition, which won’t get any easier any time soon.

Southern Miss was hosting Alabama on Monday night before heading to always-tough Louisiana Tech for a three-game weekend series, and then returning home to play Mississippi State on March 3. 

All these bouts against heavyweights should have the Eagles more than ready when the Sun Belt Conference season begins March 13 at Arkansas State. 

And there’s good baseball elsewhere…

Division II powerhouse Delta State has fired off to a 9-2 start, 6-0 in conference play, including a three-game road sweep rival Union University this past weekend. Coach Rodney Batts almost completely overhauled the Statesmen roster, bringing in 28 new players. Among those is relief pitcher Dawson Muenzenmay, formerly of Northwest Rankin High School and Hinds Community College, who has two victories and two saves in his first five appearances. He has not allowed a run and struck out 12 in eight innings.

William Carey has won five straight and 11 of its first 16 games under Bobby Halford, the winningest coach in Mississippi college baseball history. 

Pre-season SWAC favorite Jackson State, 3-4, faces an unusually busy week with a Tuesday double-header against Tougaloo and four games this weekend (Alcorn State on Friday, Mississippi Valley and UNC-Ashville on Saturday, and UNC-Ashville again on Sunday.) No doubt, the six-game week will stress Coach Omar Johnson’s pitching staff, which has struggled thus far.

A House bill aimed at increasing public school accountability in Mississippi awaits consideration in the Senate. 

House Bill 1234, authored by Republican Rep. Zachary Grady of D’Iberville, would require public schools to publish data in a dashboard on the Mississippi Department of Education’s website. 

Some of the required data would include monthly revenue and sources, vendor contracts, truancy and absenteeism rates, number of long-term substitute teachers and student-to-teacher ratios. Schools already regularly provide much of this information to the state education agency.

The bill to ramp up oversight of public schools comes as some lawmakers say they’re unwilling to impose extra accountability measures for private schools, even if they were to receive state money through school choice programs. 

READ MORE: School choice debate: Should private schools have to meet state standards if they take public money?

Proponents of the bill say that Mississippi public schools, in light of recent district takeovers and missing financial audits, need more oversight. But House Bill 1234 has drawn criticism from public school advocates, including Nancy Loome, leader of The Parents’ Campaign. She said the bill is especially egregious given House leaders’ stance opposing accountability measures for private schools and state leaders’ scrutiny of school administrative costs.

“This will be a big administrative cost,” she said. 

Under the proposed bill, districts would have to publish this information in the dashboard by September 30, 2026.

Districts that fail to report the data timely could have state funding withheld, according to the bill. 

House Bill 1234 has been referred to the Senate Education Committee, the same committee that killed a similar bill last year.

After numerous hearings over the last year, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate, as acting chief executive officer of Jackson’s historically troubled water and sewer system, granted a 12% rate increase sought by the third-party manager he appointed. 

Depending on usage, residential customers’ bills may increase by an average of $8 to $10. The average bill for a household of four is currently a little under $80 a month, according to JXN Water. 

In the Monday order, Wingate granted JXN Water’s requested hike while also ordering the utility to pursue some of the alternative collection methods proposed by Jackson officials and other opponents of the rate increase. Opponents had called the increase unaffordable for a city where 1 in 4 residents live in poverty. 

But the rate increase is necessary, Wingate wrote, to cover the water utility’s $1.2 million monthly shortfall. 

“We, the Court and the citizenry of Jackson, nonetheless, are in a tragic Catch-22,” he wrote. “Without the revenue from paying customers today, JXN Water cannot obtain the resources to fix the billing system and identify the ‘free riders’ tomorrow.”

In a press release, Jackson Mayor John Horhn noted a delay in federal funds reallocated to JXN Water last year is forcing the city to pay $1.5 million in bond debt service. 

“Our position is simple,” Horhn said. “Jackson residents deserve a water system that is funded fairly, not on the backs of the people who can least afford it. We will meet our legal obligations, but we will also keep pushing for solutions that use existing tools like better collections, honest billing, and already-approved federal funds before asking every household to pay more each month.”  

Wingate wrote in the order he was also troubled that rate-paying customers were shouldering the utility’s quest for financial stability. So he directed his court-appointed manager, Ted Henifin, to pursue several “needed structural reforms.” 

“Where a system is operating in violation of federal mandates, the remedy is compliance, not delay,” he wrote. 

The potential reforms include expediting the billing of 4,000 unmetered properties throughout the city of Jackson, opening an in-person service site where residents can discuss their bills, creating a publicly available “sample bill” to help Jacksonians understand their charges, and enhancing the debt collection of more than $74 million in outstanding arrears. 

Wingate also directed Henifin to study whether it is possible to pursue tiered billing, so that customers can save on their water bill by using less water. JXN Water has previously said this could pose issues for renters who live in apartment buildings with a single meter. 

In an effort to help Jacksonians afford the rate increase, JXN Water’s spokesperson Aisha Carson said the utility is opening more kiosks throughout the city where residents can pay without added service fees. There is already a kiosk at the Jackson Medical Mall. 

JXN Water has been financially buoyed by $150 million in federal subsidies since it was created in the wake of the city’s 2022 water crisis. The dissipation of those funds was one reason Henifin began arguing for the rate increase. 

Some have questioned how Henifin spent the federal subsidies. Wingate also wrote that he is going to conduct a “forensic analysis” of JXN Water’s expenditures. 

READ MORE: Shutoffs loomed in third year of receivership. Can Jackson afford its own water system?

To address Mississippi’s workforce shortage, some lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a program to help eligible students better afford an associate degree or professional credential in in-demand industries at the state’s community colleges. 

Senate Bill 2522 would create the UPSKILL Mississippi Grant Program, a state-funded initiative that would provide last-dollar scholarships, which would cover the remaining balance owed after all other financial aid and scholarships are applied. UPSKILL would also provide a $500 annual stipend for books, transportation, child care and other materials. The Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid would oversee the program. 

So far, there is bipartisan support for the effort, which passed the Senate on Feb. 9 and awaits consideration in two House committees before a March 3 deadline — Universities and Colleges; and Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency.

The proposal focuses on helping working adults or non-traditional students, a population with few resources or support outside of federal financial aid, said Sen. Nicole Boyd, a Republican from Oxford and chair of the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee.

“We have so many working Mississippians and adults that don’t have a certificate or some compilation of skills or a college degree to help them,” said Boyd, who authored the bill. “And with this specific population of individuals, those last dollars are critical.” 

UPSKILL would benefit adults interested in “high-demand, high priority” careers such as plumbing, HVAC technicians and construction, said Courtney Taylor, executive director of Accelerate MS, the state’s workforce development agency. Accelerate MS would be responsible for identifying a list of eligible training programs.

“We really need to have a mechanism that encourages more individuals to go into a job,” Taylor said. “So officials have been working behind the scenes to understand how this potential opportunity could work with federal and state resources to ensure we’re helping people get into these jobs we have available right now.” 

Since December, Mississippi lawmakers and higher education officials have been discussing ways to encourage more residents to earn a degree or credential to boost the state’s workforce and, eventually, the economy. About 12% of Mississippi residents have some college experience but no degree. 

If SB 2522 becomes law, the pilot UPSKILL program would roll out at a few community colleges in spring 2027. 

Lawmakers modeled the proposed bill after similar initiatives in states across the country, Boyd said. 

Tennessee established the Tennessee Reconnect grant in 2018, a last-dollar tuition scholarship program for adults returning to community or technical college.The program helped increase college enrollment by 45.1% compared to the previous year among adults who returned to college through the program, and upped credential completion 15.2%, according to 2025 data from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. 

In 2021, Michigan established a similar program that significantly increased adult community college enrollment by 38%, or roughly 620 students, in its  first year, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

States’ recent efforts to invest in tuition-free college signify a growing push to provide residents a free path to higher education or training, said Brad Hershbien, senior economist and deputy director of research at the W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

“Ultimately, this work requires time, effort and patience,” Hershbien said.

For Mississippi lawmakers and education officials, a pilot program may not be a sufficient way to gauge UPSKILL’s initial impact if it is created. Lawmakers and higher education officials should be aware of limits to collecting data for a pilot program, said Michelle Miller-Adams, a senior researcher at the Upjohn Institute. 

SB 2522 calls for students to enroll into specific programs of study to be eligible for the last-dollar scholarship. Those restrictions could make it difficult to track data if a student switches careers or course of study — challenges that could also pose an administrative burden for college officials who are tracking the data, Miller-Adams said.

“It requires a lot of thought and planning and understanding where the barriers and difficulties are, and making sure that you’re working to resolve them,” Miller-Adams said. “That means involving the logistics of a lot of the parties. In our years of research, we’ve learned the simpler the program, the better.”

We saw another busy week as the 2026 Mississippi legislative session crossed its (hopefully) midway point. Some highlights:

Budget work starts early. Can House, Senate agree?

Lawmakers have begun to focus on setting a more than $7-billion state budget. This is a couple of weeks earlier than usual, with the House passing most of its 50 or so bills that make up half the budget, and the Senate doing likewise with its half. Now they have to reach agreements on the numbers. Most folks at the Capitol are anxiously watching this process, and wondering if it will crash and burn like it did last year. Fighting between House and Senate Republican leaders on most major issues over the last few years has created a dysfunction junction. Last year fighting over tax cuts and increases produced an epic standoff, with lawmakers ending their regular session without setting a budget. Gov. Tate Reeves called them back into a special session to set a budget, but many other initiatives, including a local projects, or “Christmas tree” bill to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars to local governments, died. Many lawmakers, local government leaders and lobbyists fear a repeat.

Lawmakers ponder ice storm aid

Lawmakers from areas hardest hit by the deadly Winter Storm Fern gathered last week for a briefing and to discuss federal and state aid. Mississippi Emergency Management officials advised they are still working on damage assessments, which will be required to apply for more federal assistance. Lawmakers said many residents are calling for federal individual assistance to help repair their homes, but officials said a decision on such a federal declaration could still be weeks away. Lawmakers are considering financial aid to help local governments pay their share of cleanup and recover, and even the potential for state aid to homeowners. One lawmaker called for an “after-action review” of the state’s response to the storm, which has received some criticism.

ABC problems create alcohol crisis

The House State Affairs Committee held a hearing last week on what has become a wine and liquor crisis in Mississippi. Problems at the state Alcoholic Beverage Control warehouse have resulted in empty shelves at package stores, restaurants and bars across the state, and officials told lawmakers resolving the issue will take weeks at the least. Some business owners say they are worried about staying afloat as orders are not delivered or only partially delivered. Some say ABC is still billing for orders it’s not fulfilling, creating even more problems for business owners. The problem has revived the long-running discussion of privatizing wine and liquor sales and distribution in Mississippi.

Quote of the Week

“Welcome to your Capitol, we’re burning through a few billion dollars real quick.” – House Speaker Jason White, addressing spectators in the House gallery on Thursday as his chamber passed over 50 bills to fund state agencies, part of a more than $7 billion state budget.

In Brief

Lawmakers want SOS to give prompt election results

The House recently passed a measure that would require Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office to create a website to track election results after polls close on Election Day.

No House member voted against the measure, and it heads to the Senate for consideration. Watson’s office has said it supports the measure.

Other than the media, no government entity provides real-time updates for statewide election results after polls close. If the measure passes, election results would still only be certified after they are approved by local election officials. – Taylor Vance

Speaker believes Senate supports online gambling

House Speaker Jason White believes that a House proposal to legalize mobile sports betting and pump $600 million into the state’s pension system would have the votes to pass if it came up for a vote. But White told Mississippi Today he wasn’t sure Senate leaders would allow a vote on the measure.

“We think it makes common sense and business to do it because (mobile sports betting) is already happening illegally, it’s better to regulate it and capture that tax revenue while looking for a dedicated stream of revenue to address the PERS (public pension) deficit,” White said. “I hope they will finally see it that way.”

Senate Gaming Chairman David Blount, a Democrat from Jackson, did not bring up a bill to legalize mobile sports betting in his committee and argued it didn’t make financial sense given the rise of prediction markets. The Senate has also sent a bill to the House to put $500 million of the state’s current surplus into PERS, in addition to putting in $50 million a year over the next decade. – Michael Goldberg

Bills would aid career-tech training in schools

The House and Senate are considering two similar bills that would allow school districts to purchase equipment for industry certification programs using career and technical education grants from the Department of Education.

Certified programs have included construction, business, welding and early childhood education. House Bill 1204 has been referred to the Senate Education and Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committees. Senate Bill 2288 has been referred to the House Workforce Development Committee.

The bills are part of a broader push this legislative session to fund career and technical education at all levels of education. – Katherine Lin

By the Numbers

90.8%

Mississippi’s graduation rate for the 2024-2025 school year, up from 89.2% the year before. The state’s dropout rate has fallen to 7% from 8.5%. Both metrics have been trending in positive directions in recent years, which state Superintendent Lance Evans said reflects “the hard work of teachers, administrators, parents, and, of course, students” and continued support of the Legislature with funding.

More Legislative Coverage

House tax credit bill would send more public dollars to private schools

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Trey Lamar, a Republican from Senatobia, has introduced a bill that would increase the tax credits available to the state’s private schools through the “Children’s Promise Act.” Read the story.

Legislators working to keep local opioid settlement money from being misspent

House Public Health and Human Services Chairman Sam Creekmore, a Republican from New Albany, and Sen. Nicole Boyd, a Republican from Oxford, have both sponsored bills that would change the state’s opioid settlement laws. Read the story.

Secretary of State Michael Watson says Mississippi needs campaign finance reform

Secretary of State Michael Watson discusses his push for lawmakers to enact campaign finance reform, including transparency and searchability of reports for the public. Watson says he knows such legislation is a tough sell with lawmakers. Listen to the podcast.

Clinics within the University of Mississippi Medical Center network will remain closed and elective procedures will be canceled Monday and Tuesday as authorities work to recover the health system’s IT infrastructure following last week’s cyberattack. 

People can still receive emergency department services in UMMC hospitals and at community hospitals in Jackson, Grenada, Madison County and Holmes County, according to a statement from the hospital. 

“I know this intrusion into our system has negatively impacted some of our patients, but please know that we are using every resource at our disposal to resolve this issue in a safe and effective manner,” Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for the medical center, said in a statement Sunday. 

Federal agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, have been assisting Mississippi’s largest public hospital since Thursday when a cyberattack compromised the health care system’s IT network, forcing the shutdown of computer systems that hold patients’ electronic health records. Those records are used to book appointments and to manage patients’ medical histories, test results and billing information. 

This shutdown also disrupted county public health departments, which also rely on the same computer systems. 

Roughly 10,000 people work for UMMC, making the health care provider one of the state’s largest employers. Its facilities include seven hospitals and 35 clinics statewide, and UMMC’s annual budget amounts to about $2 billion. 

The state’s only Level 1 trauma center is operated by UMMC, and it continues to serve patients through manual procedures, or using paper records to track patient care, Woodward said. Staff also have used this paper-based system to document inpatient operations and patient orders, Woodward said in a social media message posted late Friday. Woodward confirmed that the cyberattack occurred through ransomware but said, “we have stopped the bleeding.” 

The attack’s full extent remains unknown, Woodward said.

What is missing in the current school choice debate raging at the Mississippi Capitol is an answer to this question: What happens to those students left behind?

School choice proponents, led by Republican House Speaker Jason White, speak about wanting to provide an option for students they describe as being trapped in poor-performing or failing school districts – and these proposals include sending public funds to private schools.

Education advocate Angela Bass, the executive director of Mississippi First, wrote in an article for Mississippi Today Ideas that her organization opposes vouchers or sending public funds to private schools, but supports expanding public charter schools. She wrote of how her own parents moved from a low-performing to high-performing district when she entered high school to increase her chances of receiving a quality education. Bass said charter schools would be an option for students whose parents could not move out of low-performing districts.

But what about the students who do not get into a charter school? Again, what happens to those left behind?

Public schools are mandated to educate all students and turn no one away.

Private schools can turn away students. While charter schools are defined as public schools and theoretically adhere to the same admissions policies as traditional public schools, parents must take certain actions to enroll their children in a charter school.

It is reasonable to assume that the parents who go to that trouble are most likely more involved in their children’s education. And in most cases, the children of the more involved parents are going to perform better in school – whether it is a charter school, private school or, yes, public school.

Perhaps there are parents who, because of their work schedule or their limitations resulting from their own poor education background, are less likely to be involved in their children’s education. Maybe, the parents are dependent on the school bus to get their children to the public school where they live and know they do not have the means or time to transport their children to another school – charter, private or even another public school – that does not offer transportation for the students trying to leave the failing school. Or maybe the family – even with a voucher – cannot afford the tuition and other expenses associated with a private school.

Sadly, perhaps the parent just does not care about their children obtaining a good education.

Regardless of the reason, those children who are left behind in the poor-performing public school still deserve a good education.

Can we all agree on that?

Yet, with school choice, funds are diverted from the public schools that are mandated to educate those students who are left behind.

In the 2000s, when Republican Gov. Haley Barbour balked at full funding of the formula for public schools, he and legislators agreed to form a commission to study the issue.

Many, perhaps even Barbour, speculated the commission would find the formula was providing too much money to local school districts. What the commission found is that the formula was allocating far too little money to educate low-income students.

Despite the efforts of many, the Legislature for years never found the political will to give to the local school districts the money the commission recommended was needed to provide an adequate education to the at-risk or low-income students. 

The dirty little secret that most politicians do not want to talk about is that, in many cases, the worst-performing school districts are also the districts with the most poverty. They need more money than they are getting from the state.

In recent years, there has been a commitment to provide additional funding for low-income students. Speaker White, and others, helped lead that effort.

Is it enough money? Perhaps. Time will tell.

Perhaps another commission should be formed to offer recommendations on what is needed for students in those low-performing districts to ensure that no child is left behind.

To his credit, White seems sincerely concerned about students he describes as trapped in the poor-performing school districts. He said opponents of school choice have not offered an alternative for those who want to escape the failing districts. But what about those left behind?

The only answer is to improve the public schools for all students.

Scott Colom, a Democratic district attorney seeking his party’s nomination for U.S. Senate, raised the most campaign money of Mississippi’s federal candidates by the end of last year, raising over $420,000 in the last reporting cycle. 

But incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith still far outpaces him and other federal candidates with cash on hand, reporting more than $2.4 million at her disposal. 

Colom is the district attorney for Noxubee, Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties and has not appeared on a statewide ballot before. To become the first Democrat since the 1980s to win a U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, he would likely need a significant amount of cash to build name recognition and run campaign ads. 

Colom, in a statement to Mississippi Today, said his campaign team is building the strongest grassroots campaign Mississippi has ever seen and “this is just the beginning.” 

“People in all 82 counties are joining our movement because they’re tired of having a senator who doesn’t show up and doesn’t fight for us,” Colom said.

Hyde-Smith has the power of incumbency, existing campaign infrastructure and the endorsement of President Donald Trump. But national Democrats believe the junior U.S. senator is vulnerable and have said they’re willing to pour money into the state to try to flip a Senate seat blue in Mississippi. 

Nathan Calvert, communications director for the Hyde-Smith campaign, said in a statement that the senator enjoys broad support across the state and continues to break previous fundraising records. 

“We recently held a six-figure event at Mar-a-Lago with many Mississippians in attendance,” Calvert said. “Now we’re planning a huge event in Jackson this spring with Senator Kennedy from Louisiana.”

Both Colom and Hyde-Smith are competing in party primaries on March 10. On the Democratic side, Colom is competing against Albert Littell and Priscilla Till. Hyde-Smith is competing against Sarah Adlakha in the GOP primary. 

The party nominees will compete against Ty Pinkins, an independent candidate, in the general election. Pinkins raised $9,061 last quarter and has  $2,979 in cash on hand, according to campaign reports. 

Here are the latest campaign finance reports from Mississippi’s congressional candidates: 

U.S. Senate

• Sarah Adlakha, Republican
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $6,371
  • Cash on hand: $35,663
• Scott Colom, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $420,327
  • Cash on hand: $698,749
• Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican incumbent
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $357,995
  • Cash on hand: $2,493,547
• Albert R. Littell, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: No report found 
  • Cash on hand: No report found 
• Ty Pinkins, independent
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $9,061
  • Cash on hand:  $2,979
• Priscilla W. Till, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $2,583
  • Cash on hand:  $2,874

U.S. House of Representatives – District 1

• Kelvin Buck, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $5,690
  • Cash on hand: $13,514
• Cliff Johnson, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $258,863
  • Cash on hand: $151,158   
• Trent Kelly, Republican incumbent
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $106,991 
  • Cash on hand: $682,524

U.S. House of Representatives – District 2

• Ron Eller, Republican
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $2,535
  • Cash on hand: $41,968
• Bennie G. Thompson, Democratic incumbent
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $117,138
  • Cash on hand:  $1,659,853
• Evan Littleton Turnage, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $65,464
  • Cash on hand:  $53,877
• Pertis Herman Williams III, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: No report found 
  • Cash on hand:  No report found 
• Kevin Wilson, Republican
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $5,676
  • Cash on hand: $15,997

U.S. House of Representatives – District 3

• Michael A. Chiaradio, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $50,068
  • Cash on hand: $20,802
• Michael Guest, Republican incumbent
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $90,544
  • Cash on hand: $816,968

U.S. House of Representatives – District 4:

• Paul James Blackman, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: No report found 
  • Cash on hand: No report found 
• Mike Ezell, Republican incumbent
  • Money raised 4th quarter: $221,650
  • Cash on hand: $422,447
• D. Ryan Grover, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: No report found
  • Cash on hand: No report found 
• Jeffrey Hulum III, Democrat
  • Money raised 4th quarter: No report found
  • Cash on hand: No report found
• Sawyer Walters, Republican
  • Money raised 4th quarter: No report found
  • Cash on hand: No report found