One area lawmaker says he will fight for an amendment naming Starkville School District Superintendent Lewis Holloway the county school system’s conservator a year ahead of schedule after lawmakers passed two bill substitutes Thursday that stripped out the provision from original legislation.
Both the Miss. House and Senate approved substitutes that, once finalized and signed by Gov. Phil Bryant, will alter state code pertaining to 2015’s state-mandated consolidation of Oktibbeha County School District and SSD. HB 833 and SB 2818 were introduced this term to amend portions of law developed last year by HB 716, the original school merger bill, with recommendations developed by the Commission on Consolidated Starkville School District Structure.
As originally filed earlier this term, both bills called for Holloway’s appointment as Oktibbeha County School District conservator on July 1 and gave him authority to issue notes that would finance school repairs in both districts before state-mandated consolidation occurs.
Holloway will lead the combined school system. Currently, Margie Pulley serves as OCSD’s conservator.
Yesterday, both chambers passed bill substitutes introduced last week that gutted the language specific to Holloway’s early appointment. Instead, the new legislation states OCSD shall remain under Mississippi Department of Education control until June 30, 2015, without explicitly calling for a new conservator.
Those substitutes passed with overwhelming support in both chambers. They now move across the Mississippi State Capitol to the next corresponding chamber.
State Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus, said he expects the House to produce a “strike-all” amendment — representatives will gut the Senate version and effectively replace it with the language from their own bill — for HB 833’s substitute. A similar move could occur in the Senate.
Due to the varying language of both substitutes, lawmakers in both chambers expect a conference committee to form and negotiate a final draft. Six state representatives — three from the House and three from the Senate — formed a conference committee last year which produced HB 716. That committee included members of the House and Senate Education committees.
Chism, who serves on the House Education Committee, is expected to play a key role developing the final legislation.
State Sen. Gary Jackson, R-French Camp, said he will push fellow lawmakers to re-introduce the language calling for Holloway’s early appointment.
Language addressing prior requests by the local merger committee was preserved in both committee substitutes, including calls for future attorney general representation involving both districts’ desegregation orders and the extension of an expiring 2016 school board seat into 2017. The merger committee, however, did not explicitly ask MDE or the Legislature to move Holloway’s appointment up a year. That request was made by members of Parents for Public Schools Starkville when they began independently lobbying lawmakers.
“There are so many things the commission asked for, but Holloway did not ask for this. It is something so common sense that you just have to put it in there. I think it’s worth fighting for,” Jackson said. “If everything was equal, it would save the state money. He needs free rein right now. Nothing would be harmed with by that move.”
Chism previously told The Dispatch he supports the ahead-of-schedule transition and alluded to its possible inclusion after conference committee negotiations.
“It can come back when it goes to conference and not have a problem on our side,” he said Tuesday.
State Rep. Tyrone Ellis, D-Starkville, previously said Tuesday he was in favor of the early transition — he acknowledged the money-saving nature of the move — but drew a harder stance Thursday: county constituents need more involvement as the unified district moves forward.
Officials close to the consolidation process acknowledged dissent created locally by this session’s original merger bills. As filed, the bills would have granted Holloway “full authority to non-renew the employment contracts” of all former OCSD employees during the 2015-2016 academic year.
The Senate substitute now states the Starkville School District Board of Trustees “shall be responsible for establishing the contracts” of teachers, principals, and administrative staff. OCSD’s conservator shall also consult with the school board about county employees’ contracts, the legislation states.
The same substitute added: “In order to prepare for the efficient staffing of the Starkville Consolidated School District, the conservator … and the superintendent … shall have full authority to non-renew the employment of any teacher, principal, clerical or administrative staff located within their respective school districts for the 2015-2016 school year.”
“I want … more involvement with the county, more hand-on with the whole district moving forward. We need to embrace the county more,” Ellis said.
The Starkville representative also drew issue with language used by merger committee members about distributing the cost of renovations and improvements evenly through the county with bonding maneuvers that would raise outlying residents’ taxes.
As merger committee members tackled financing issues this year, Holloway reminded the group that the county has never passed a significant capital improvements bond. Commissioners repeatedly said the local tax burden should be evenly distributed between city and county residents.
Since SSD is close to its bonding capacity — its school board approved facility improvements last year in light of consolidation — the merger group requested lawmakers grant OCSD permission to expend funds on city school district renovations.
Short-term funding needs were addressed in both original bills this term by allowing Holloway, as OCSD’s conservator, to issue a county millage levy for up to $2.2 million to be used toward county elementary school renovations, while long-term efforts were covered with a clause permitting him to issue up to $10 million in bonds across a 10-year period. Both bills permitted reverse referendum mechanisms to approve long-term funding sources.
The Senate substitute maintains lines allowing the reverse referendum mechanism, but the House version drops the reference. It also varies from the House’s version as it directs Pulley to issue notes for repairs and renovations to both systems’ campuses “as soon as practicable after passage” of the act and allows her to issue bonds for similar upgrades from July 1 to June 30, 2015. Holloway would then have the ability to issue bonds through 2024 after assuming control of the unified school system.
“Folks need to get that thought out of their minds that taxing the county is the right thing to do. The county didn’t create the problem; the city did by unconstitutionally expanding the separate school district’s lines outside of the city, and I don’t mind letting them know that,” Ellis said.
Msu’s funding request remains unaddressed by substitutes
As representatives line up for a debate over Holloway’s early appointment, lawmakers are also expected to address a Mississippi State University funding request that would help finance a dynamic partnership with the consolidated school system.
Through that partnership, the unified system will be designated a demonstration school district. MSU will help facilitate the construction of a grades 6-7 school on or near its campus, while the two entities will establish and operate a pre-kindergarten program for all 4-year-olds in Oktibbeha County. The university is expected to expand Pre-K opportunities across the state, “ultimately achieving university availability of quality pre-kindergarten education for all 4-year-olds in Mississippi by 2025,” according to the merger committee’s final report.
To help fund construction and operational costs associated with the partnership programs, the commission’s report asked lawmakers for up to $18 million in new monies, a figure slightly lower than the original $20 million sought in early drafts.
The final report specifically asks the state to provide up to $9 million for construction of the grades 6-7 campus and a single funding stream of up to $8 million for construction of the pre-kindergarten school. Commissioners also seek a five-year, $1 million annual stream for the program’s operation.
School district officials previously told The Dispatch that local funding sources authorized by the original drafts of HB 833 and SB 2818 could have been shifted to help cover construction costs associated with the MSU partnership.
Getting the Legislature to approve such a large request could prove difficult, Chism and Jackson acknowledged.
“If this was just a bond bill for a consolidated school district to build a school, there would be no chance. They’ve got it branded as a demonstration school district — that’s them putting their best foot forward,” Chism said. “There’s a chance they can get that, but I can’t sit here and say I know how that one will work out.”
“Because it is a pilot project, maybe it could pass. More than likely, however, I think this might get shot down,” Jackson added. “There’s no denying how this pilot program could serve as a training ground for teachers.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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