I believe in Mississippi. I believe we can be better and deserve better than 50th. I believe the path to maximizing the potential of our great state is through education and opportunity. That is why I support Initiative 42 and urge you to do the same.
Initiated by more than 200,000 Mississippians, 42 seeks to do what our elected officials have failed to do for far too long– provide adequate funding for our public schools.
Joel McNeece
I know for the past few months you have been bombarded with positions both for and against the initiative.
Take a moment to think about all those you have heard speaking up against this effort to “adequately” fund our schools. Ninety-nine percent of those arguing against are politicians. That is because they see this effort by citizens to adequately fund education as an affront to their power.
Our lawmakers have proven time-and-time again, with a litany of excuses, that they will not follow state law and adhere to the education funding called for in the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP). They’ve had ample opportunity to show their support for education, but in the two decades since voting MAEP into law, they’ve only approved full funding twice.
That is why citizens were forced to take matters into their own hands and put this initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The biggest cries by these politicians regarding Initiative 42 is that we can’t afford it and the involvement of the judicial branch.
First, if we can’t afford to provide an adequate education for Mississippi children, then why are we here? That is political nonsense. It’s simply a matter of priorities and wanting better for our state.
Their second argument is the initiative will allow the courts to set school funding. For starters, our system of government involves judicial review of legislative actions, so if the Legislature fails to comply with the state’s constitution on any matter, it’s up for review by the courts. This isn’t new. But let’s be clear, if the legislature simply follows the law and funds the MAEP formula, the courts would never have any involvement.
We can’t allow our schools and our children to continue to fall farther and farther behind because we are unwilling to make the commitment to providing them the necessary resources for an adequate education.
I urge you not to listen to these cries of alarm by the legislators simply aiming to scare voters while protecting their own political power.
Protect Mississippi’s school children instead by helping them to have a true opportunity for success through an “adequate” education. I ask that you join me in voting 1) FOR the constitutional amendment, and 2) FOR Initiative 42 – not 42A.
Email Joel McNeece at joelmcneece@gmail.com & follow him on Twitter @joelmcneece