As area legislators begin the 2017 state legislative session, priorities are being weighed and examined against the ever-looming question: Where will the money come from?
“Education, education, education, education,” state Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, said when asked to identify his top priority. Jordan, a retired teacher, is a long-standing member of the Education Committee.
The Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) was voted into law in 1997 under a Democratically controlled legislature but has been fully funded only twice over the last 20 years.
In 2016, Republican legislative leaders brought in EdBuild, a New Jersey-based nonprofit, to come up with a new funding formula for schools that they say will put more money into classrooms and less into administration.
“We need more resources dedicated to education,” Jordan said. “Let’s get behind a program, whether it’s funding MAEP or going with EdBuild. The bottom line is all of them are going to need more resources.”
Rep. Kevin Horan, D-Grenada, is cautious about which funding program he will support, though he agrees adequate funding for education is a top priority.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll make strides in funding our MAEP program,” Horan said. “I haven’t seen the EdBuild report yet, but if it ultimately comes out that we’re going to be shifting funds from our public schools to fund charter schools, I don’t anticipate that I’ll be able to support it.
“I’m in favor of putting more money in the classroom, but I don’t want to do it in a way that will divert funds from existing public schools.”
EdBuild’s proposal was expected to be available before the session began on Monday, but that report has been delayed.
Rep. Willie Perkins, D-Greenwood, also sees education funding as a top priority and said he’d extend that support to junior colleges and institutions of higher learning.
Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, said he’s looking forward to “developing a method to fund education that gets the money directly to the students and classrooms in a transparent, efficient and consistent manner.”
Also high on these legislators’ lists of priorities are roads and bridges, particularly those in this area of the state.
Oliver said he is communicating with leadership daily “to determine ways to appropriate more funding to our county road maintenance efforts.”
Jordan agreed that more funding for roads and bridges needs to come down from the state to local areas.
“Our roads and bridges are crumbling beneath our feet,” he said. “We may have to back up on some of the things we have planned to pay for infrastructure improvements. Local people paying taxes isn’t going to be enough to make these needed repairs.”
Perkins said the state may need to increase “a few taxes” to generate funds for roads and bridges.
Horan said he’s not sure where he stands on a proposed increase in fuel taxes to help pay for infrastructure improvements and needs to see “everything placed on the table” before he’ll vote for it.
Horan also emphasized the need for legislators from rural counties to band together “for everything from infrastructure on, to be sure rural counties are treated fairly,” and to ensure representation for rural areas from both parties.
Jordan and Horan agreed that this is probably not the year to extend tax cuts, given the extensive financial needs and limited budget of the state. Oliver said he will support legislation that “does not burden each of us with unnecessary tax increases.”
Jobs and economic growth were identified as priorities by Oliver. Perkins said that, in addition to education, the primary concern of his constituency is jobs.
Horan said he believes that economic development in the state depends in part on criminal justice reform, a priority that he will work for.
With a large portion of the state’s potential work force incarcerated or formerly incarcerated, he cites the importance of helping those potential workers re-enter their communities with clean records and job training. Businesses considering locating to Mississippi, he said, require an adequate and well-trained work force. Re-training rather than recidivism is the goal, he said.
Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona, who chairs the Tourism Committee, said she’s focused on economic development for the Delta and sees tourism as a vehicle for jobs creation in the Greenwood area.
“Existing businesses are already bringing tourist dollars to Leflore County,” Chassaniol said, “and new business growth such as restaurants and craft breweries will augment this effort.”
Chassaniol said she is committed to bringing more tourism professionals to the area to help local leaders develop plans, especially given that this is Mississippi’s bicentennial year with celebrations planned across the state.
Additionally, said Chassaniol, with the Grammy Museum in Cleveland bringing more visitors to the Delta, she is working with the Mississippi Tourism Association to keep those guests in the state for longer visits to increase the dollars they spend.
Jordan also raised the issue of tourism but in a different vein, urging that the state change its flag, the only one remaining in the country that bears a Confederate battle symbol.
“Let’s change our flag so we can welcome everybody to the state,” Jordan said. “It’s really a tourism matter. I think we can make billions if we decide tourism is a priority and we really welcome everybody to our state.”
Jordan said it doesn’t make sense for the state to invest millions in new Mississippi history and civil rights museums, due to open in December 2017, while continuing to fly a flag that repels large numbers of visitors.
Perkins sees the No. 1 issue as appropriation: finding money to fund state agencies and departments. That will be a tall order, given last year’s session that saw extensive cuts to health and human services and to agencies across the spectrum. Lawmakers spent the summer months combing through agency budgets looking for fat, duplication and waste, and the leadership’s new budget proposal is trim and tight, pointing to the need for continued cuts in most areas with the exception of K-12 education.
Despite the obstacles, Horan said he always looks forward to the session and sees plenty of opportunities to accomplish change. Oliver, too, said he is excited and looks forward to fruitful debates.
Jordan, a veteran of 24 years in the Legislature, said he always looks forward to entering the fray one more time.
“I think there’s still common ground regarding all these matters,” Jordan said. “My top priority is the 3.1 million people of this state. That should be every legislator’s top priority.”
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
The original version of this article misquoted Rep. Karl Oliver on his efforts to secure more funding for county road maintenance. Oliver referred to roads throughout his multi-county district, not just those in his home county of Montgomery, as was incorrectly reported.
