Tupelo Daily Journal. January 12, 2022.
Editorial: Investments in tech prep education continue to impress
Lee County School District last month showed off its new $8 million Career and Technical Education Center, a state-of-the-art facility that houses several tracts for students who want to start specializing their studies.
From drones to culinary arts to health science, Lee County students will have opportunities to work in a setting unlike anything available to them before. Instead of teachers rotating through schools, students will now come to the CTE facility at The Hive business park. Industrial kitchens, top-of-the-line drones and real-life medical settings are all part of the learning experience.
What Lee County has done mirrors what Tupelo Public Schools offer, and it is part of a growing trend in education. In many ways, what we are seeing is a return to the way things used to be in our schools. VoTechs were commonplace for many years, until education systems across the country started putting more and more emphasis on college preparatory tracts instead of career-readiness and technological training.
Now the pendulum is starting to swing back the other way, hopefully not overcorrecting and instead finding a resting point where public schools are set up to offer various pathways for students instead of herding students toward a path that might not be in their best interest.
This is not to say a college education is unimportant. In many cases, a college degree is still an invaluable educational achievement for people. But that might be a two-year associate’s degree versus a four-year bachelor’s degree, or it might be that having the specialized education path in high school gives students a leg up in their preferred collegiate studies.
Nevertheless, the college route is not the only one to success, wealth and well being. And without programs like those in Lee County and Tupelo schools, too many of our young people are leaving high school without the practical skills that translate into career-level positions.
As what was old becomes new again, we should learn from the missteps of the past. VoTechs became an undervalued part of the educational system, largely because so much emphasis was put on a student’s ability to get into college. Those choosing another route — either based on their professional preference or their life situation — were often looked down upon for taking what some considered a lesser post-high school route. That was never true, and it certainly isn’t true today. Skilled workers have always been in high demand, and jobs are generally plentiful.
But career tech programs have also evolved greatly from the past. Culinary offerings today, for instance, are aimed at those who are interested in a profession in food services. This isn’t the cooking class of old that taught students how to bake.
Technology-based programs such as engineering, drones and coding are also part of these offerings. As technology expands and changes what skilled workers look like in the future, programs such as these will better equip our young people with the appropriate skills to succeed.
That our local schools continue to make these investments is encouraging. And we hope parents and students will take advantage of what can be life-changing opportunities.
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Oxford Eagle. January 14, 2022.
A day after the massive tax cut bill championed by Republican Speaker Philip Gunn passed the House, a member of his leadership team took bold action.
Normally the mindset after the passage of such landmark legislation would be to leave good enough alone and send the proposal to the other side of the Mississippi Capitol for Senate consideration.
Instead, House Ways and Means Chair Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, asked that the vote on the bill be reconsidered. What’s the deal? The speaker and his team won a big victory. Why would they want to call the bill up for further consideration, giving people who voted for it the day before an opportunity to change their mind and vote against it?
“I have some good news,” Lamar told the members. He said after further study it was determined that the state could afford to reduce the tax on car tags by 50% instead of the 35% in the original bill.
When the bill was first considered in the 122-member House, 12 members (all Democrats) voted against the proposal. On the second consideration after the good news about the car tags was added to the bill, only four members (all Democrats) voted no.
“It is hard to vote against the car tag reduction,” said Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Pickens, who voted for the proposal both times but has opposed past tax cut efforts offered by Republicans.
“In Washington County, the biggest complaint we get is on the costs of car tags,” said Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, another Democrat who voted for the proposal twice, though he has opposed past tax cut plans.
The cold hard truth is that legislative Republicans can pass tax cuts (requiring a 60% supermajority) without the help of Democrats. But some wondered after the vote on the tax cut last week why the Democrats did not at least put up a fight.
In the past Democrats have opposed efforts to phase out the income tax as Gunn’s proposal would do because it also increased the sales tax. The sales tax is generally viewed as a regressive tax that places more of a burden on the poor.
The proposal put forth this year by Gunn increases the sales tax on retail items from 7% to 8.5%, making it more palatable to many Democrats than the proposal he unsuccessfully offered last year that increased the sales taxes to 9.5%. Both this year and last year, Gunn’s proposal also has included the popular-among-Democrats proposal to reduce the sales tax on groceries. This year’s proposal reduces the sales tax on groceries from 7% to ultimately 4%.
But the big change this year that caught the attention of Democrats is the reduction in the car tag tax, which is notoriously high in Mississippi.
The other major objection to tax cuts has been that the state has too many needs to be reducing taxes.
That argument might carry less weight with legislators as the state maintains a potential surplus of more than $2 billion because of unprecedented revenue growth for the past fiscal year of 15.9%, followed by anticipated double-digit growth for the current year.
The growth is not unique to Mississippi. Most states are experiencing strong revenue growth thanks to an unprecedented infusion of federal funds into states to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, strong wage growth by workers and inflation. Because of inflation, people are paying more for products, resulting in higher sales taxes being collected by the state.
“Before lawmakers commit to expanding public programs, raising salaries, cutting taxes, or other new costs, they should consider the long-term implications of these decisions,” the well-respected Pew Charitable Trust pointed out in a recent release. “State coffers may be full now, but this will not always be the case — and states face a wide range of challenges including rising costs, narrowing revenue streams, and emerging risks from issues like advanced technologies and aging populations “
Of course, Mississippi still has issues like underfunded schools, a lack of health care access and low pay for state employees. Many believe the state Legislature should be doing more to financially shore up the Public Employees Retirement System, which is legally committed to providing pension benefits to state employees, teachers and local governmental employees.
Despite those needs and thanks to that revenue surplus, Gunn, Gov. Tate Reeves and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann all have voiced support for tax cuts of varying degrees.
Perhaps as legislators ponder those tax cut proposals, they will consider the impact such action will have on the ability of the state to meet its long-term needs.
But if they still go forward with tax cuts, it is difficult to envision part of the package not being a reduction in the cost of car tags.
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Columbus Dispatch. January 14, 2022.
Editorial: Two examples of eyewitness tips leading to arrests; we need more
When law enforcement officers respond to a call, one of the first things they do after securing the crime scene is look for witnesses. All too often, it’s an effort that is made difficult because witnesses “don’t want to get involved,” fearing reprisal in some cases or harboring a distrust of law enforcement.
The presence of willing witnesses is often the difference between quickly identifying and apprehending a suspect and a long, uncertain investigation that jeopardizes law enforcement’s ability to bring the guilty party to justice.
Crime data shows that if a suspect isn’t identified within the first 48 hours of the commission of the crime, the odds of solving those cases begins to decline. There is even a true crime TV show based on the premise.
For years, law enforcement has stressed the importance of public cooperation in crime investigations.
Recently, we’ve seen two examples of how citizens can aid law enforcement in their efforts to quickly identify suspects and get them off the streets.
In one case, multiple eye witnesses came forward to help the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office make an arrest in a murder case on Jan. 6. On Monday, an eye-witness followed a bank robbery suspect, communicating with Columbus police as he trailed the suspect until police intercepted the suspect and made an arrest.
A note of caution: Police do not recommend tailing suspects, which can be dangerous. There is a line to be drawn between aiding an investigation and participating in one. In this case, fortunately, the witness was able to follow the suspect at a sufficient distance to ensure safety.
Without the citizens’ help, it’s unlikely that the suspect could have been taken into custody so quickly — about 10 minutes.
In both cases, citizen involvement was a critical factor in making an arrest.
We urge citizens to step forward as soon as possible when they have information relevant to crime events.
Citizens who may be fearful of coming forward have a great way to provide that information anonymously and even be rewarded for those efforts.
Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers provides cash rewards for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those who commit felony offenses by calling a tip line (800-530-7151) or leaving a tip through the P3 Tips mobile app. Either way, you can remain anonymous.
In 2021, six people were awarded a combined $3,150 for calling in tips that lead to convictions. The program is funded by fees/fines for moving violation citations. The funds are there. What law enforcement needs is more citizen participation in the program. Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott, the program director, says the addition of the phone app has already increased the volume of tips.
Both Scott and Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins are advocating for larger awards.
The most valuable benefit to the community are not those cash rewards, of course. When citizens cooperate with law enforcement, our streets and neighborhoods are made incrementally safer.
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