JACKSON — A bill that would change all public school district superintendents to appointees advanced out of committee Friday in the Mississippi House.
Senate Bill 2438 would require local school boards to appoint superintendents after their current terms ends, including those positions filled in the November 2015 general election. The bill passed the House Education Committee without contention.
The measure would eliminate the election of school superintendents in all districts — 55 of the state’s 144 school districts still do so. Terms for appointed superintendents would last a maximum of four school years, the same as for elected superintendents now.
The majority of school districts in Mississippi support the measure because it would allow them to pick from a larger pool of candidates, according to Mississippi School Boards Association spokesman Paul Chamblee.
“Right now, those school districts are limited to people who have to be qualified for the job, live within the school district’s boundaries and then decide to run for superintendent,” he said. “This gives districts more options.”
That flexibility is especially important for small school districts in rural areas, said Sen. Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, who authored the bill.
“We can look across district lines to find qualified football coaches, but we’re limited when it comes to superintendents?” he said.
He said the bill would keep elected superintendents from focusing on re-election near the end of term rather than what’s best for students.
The bill now moves to the full House for more debate. It previously passed the Senate 40-9.
“We need to as much as we can to remove politics from education,” he said.
Meanwhile, the school boards that appoint superintendents would still be elected to give district residents representation, he said.
Tollison said many school districts that still elect superintendents, including his home district of Panola County, have already sought to change to appointed superintendents on their own.
“This is something many schools want, and it’s happening piecemeal already,” he said.
“We need to as much as we can to remove politics from education,” he said.
Meanwhile, the school boards that appoint superintendents would still be elected to give district residents representation, he said.
Tollison said many school districts that still elect superintendents, including his home district of Panola County, have already sought to change to appointed superintendents on their own.
“This is something many schools want, and it’s happening piecemeal already,” he said.
The bill now moves to the full House for more debate. It previously passed the Senate 40-9.
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