Recent editorials from Mississippi newspapers:
March 8
Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss., on statewide building code is Legislature at its best:
The Mississippi Legislature has its moments, and one occurred last week with the passage of a statewide building code.
This was no small feat.
Legislators had to put aside the belief of some of their constituents that it is their God-given, if not constitutional, right to build what they please as they please on their property.
That attitude and practice made Mississippi properties a more expensive risk for insurers. Without minimum standards for construction, insurance companies were exposed to greater risk and therefore charged higher premiums to compensate for it.
Between the urbanized Coast and suburbanized DeSoto County, Mississippi retains vast stretches of rural landscape. To impose on all its residents in unincorporated areas — indeed, in areas that are unlikely to ever be incorporated — a minimum standard for the construction of buildings is an achievement of the highest legislative order.
It exemplifies legislators doing their duty — to craft public policy which serves the public good.
Whether or not this results in lower insurance premiums, as some proponents have promised, it will ensure that new building in Mississippi are safer and sounder.
The lifesaving potential of enhanced building standards was demonstrated just a few days ago at an apartment complex in D’Iberville. Fireproofing precautions, while not up to current requirements, were still sufficient to prevent serious injuries during a nighttime fire.
The passage of a statewide building code is something for constituents to admire and for legislators themselves to emulate.
Online:
https://www.sunherald.com
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March 11
Natchez (Miss.) Democrat on no excuse for senator’s days away:
Sen. Melanie Sojourner, the first-term state senator from Adams County, seems to have forgotten an important commitment she made; showing up for work shouldn’t be optional.
Senate records show Sen. Sojourner has missed one out of every 10 roll calls so far in the 2014 Legislature. All other local representatives have perfect attendance.
The sad part about this isn’t the fact that she missed the time in the job she so vehemently sought; it’s her apathetic attitude about her responsibilities.
When asked about her high truancy rate, Sen. Sojourner points to all kinds of excuses, most ridiculously that the office of state senator is a part-time job.
She’s technically correct.
Mississippi’s lawmakers are, in fact, part-time because the Legislature generally only meets once a year and usually just for a few months - barring a special session called occasionally by the governor.
But part-time employees cannot pick and choose the days and hours they work and neither should state senators.
Employers - in this case, citizens for whom Sen. Sojourner should be working - expect part-time workers to show up when work is scheduled.
Sen. Sojourner should realize when she signed up for the job - the job of working for the people in her district - that the schedule is set well in advance and the public expects her to at least show up.
At the very least, she should apologize publicly for falling short of her duties while working a second job - helping another truant state senator, Chris McDaniel - seek a higher office.
Perhaps both of them should refocus on doing the work voters elected them to do before they see more responsibility that clearly has yet to be earned - at least not through attendance records.
Online:
https://www.natchezdemocrat.com
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March 10
The Greenwood (Miss.) Commonwealth on vouchers for special education:
Few things can be more difficult for a parent than to watch a child struggle in school. This surely is at the core of a movement in Mississippi to give vouchers to special education students to help their families pay for instruction outside of the public schools.
Bills still alive in both houses of the Legislature would allow a limited number of parents to use about $6,000 of public money a year to remove their special-needs children from public schools and find them help elsewhere - either at a private school or with a private tutor.
Critics of the proposal claim it’s just another way to undermine public schools, sapping millions of dollars from an already underfunded system.
There’s little doubt, though, that most public school districts face a challenge in handling the unique requirements of special education students. Despite federal money for these programs, it is difficult or impossible for many public schools to provide everything special education students need.
The term “special education” typically evokes an image of a mentally or physically handicapped child, but there are other students in public school special education programs that do not easily fit either description.
Mississippi has a lot of special ed students. The federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act provides for a unique education plan for any student that qualifies, and Mississippi currently has 66,000 of them, including 10,000 in kindergarten.
The idea, however, that any more than a few private schools around the state have the resources to care for and educate special education students is unrealistic.
Private schools, as with public schools, have had to pinch pennies the past few years. And unlike public schools, they cannot rely on federal government assistance to help pay for special education services. The $6,000-per-student voucher probably would come nowhere close to covering the cost of a program at a private school.
Private tutors may be a more realistic option, but one has to wonder whether they would be any more effective than the current setup in the public schools.
Asked a simple question at a hearing late last month - Where would families find the instruction they want their children to have? - some proponents said they’d figure out what to do after the money was allocated.
There is no simple answer. The number of special education students seems to be rising, which is a mystery all its own. Some students can do well with mainstream kids, while others would do better to be separated.
Whatever complaints parents have with special education services in public schools, it’s impossible to envision how private schools, especially in rural areas, would be up to this challenge.
Online:
https://www.gwcommonwealth.com
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