Initiative 42
By now you’ve seen the TV ads and heard the radio spots about Initiative 42. Before you go to the polls, I wanted you to know the facts.
First, we spend 40 cents of every dollar on K-12 education and 54 cents when community colleges and universities are included. Last year, we spent $2.5 billion on K-12 education, which is about $8,500 per student. Relative to incomes in Mississippi, our education spending is the 17th best in the country.
Second, Initiative 42 turns the education funding and policy making decisions over to one chancery judge in Hinds County. Your voice as a citizen is eliminated and replaced with a Hinds County judge that you didn’t elect.
Third, Initiative 42 says “adequate and efficient,” with no definition of either. It will be up to the Hinds County judge to decide what adequate means. This judge could decide that a school district that has a strong local tax base, like Lowndes County, needs to transfer some of its state money to a low tax base school district to equalize per student expenditures. Thus, Lowndes County would be punished because of its economic development over the last 15 years. This judge could consolidate all school districts in Mississippi and have only one school district per county with no input on that decision.
If you agree with me, that this is bad for Mississippi, please vote twice. First, vote “Against Both” Initiative measure no. 42 and Alternative Measure no. 42 A. Then, select for Alternative measure No. 42A, which is the safety net if we lose the first vote. These are the bottom bubbles on both questions.
Rep. Gary A. Chism
Columbus
Chism represents the District 37 in the Legislature.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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