More than half of area professionals think Mississippi has a negative image, if the Mississippi Economic Council’s Tour in Columbus is anything to go by.

At MEC’s annual luncheon, CEO and President Scott Waller polled the room of about 100 business and community leaders, and 59 percent of them said they personally view Mississippi’s image as negative. Nearly all of them said they think people in other states view Mississippi’s image likewise.

Those numbers aren’t unique, Waller said. As part of MEC’s annual tour of 18 Mississippi cities, he asks these and other questions of business and community leaders statewide to determine each area’s concerns and bring those to state officials. The majority of the people he’s polled believe the state is viewed negatively by people both in and outside Mississippi.

Waller said there are certainly issues plaguing the state that communities must deal with, but they also have to look at positive things going on — particularly, he argued, in education — and be sure to celebrate those achievements in order to change the narrative of Mississippi being a backward state.

“When we think about what our state is, where we’re going, how do we change that image?” he said. “How do we make sure that we’re not talking about the negative, but instead figuring out a way to deal with the negative — because we can’t walk away from it — but then talk about the good things that are happening that can help change the dynamic of the conversation?”

He pointed out Mississippi leads the nation in improvements in national assessments of fourth grade math and reading and eighth grade math and reading, and it’s graduation rate is actually slightly higher than the national average — 85 percent to the nation’s 84.6 percent. Waller also pointed to national rankings that no longer have Mississippi in last place.

“In the latest Newsweek poll on education, Mississippi ranked 46th,” he said. “Think about that for just a second: 46. Maybe that’s not a great number, but when you’ve always been either 50 or 51 (including) D.C., that’s a pretty big improvement. … There’s something happening in (education) that’s allowed us to move up. We’re 46th today. Our next goal should be 44. Then 42. That’s when you start to see the needle move, that we’re actually making real progress.”

In response to questions Waller asked about education, 85 percent of attendees said they strongly or somewhat agreed that Mississippi’s community colleges are adequately preparing students for the workforce, and 82 percent said the same thing for Mississippi’s four-year universities.

Those results didn’t surprise Waller.

“Particularly in a place like Columbus that has not only strong community colleges but a strong four-year university right here, and you’re fairly close to another, that you see the value of what our universities bring to the table and what our community colleges bring to the table in terms of preparing our workforce,” he said.

However, nearly 65 percent of attendees said they didn’t feel K-12 schools are adequately preparing students for the workforce. Almost all of them — 92 percent — said the state has a problem with brain drain, an issue wherein the most educated of a population leave an area for other opportunities.

Waller and Itawamba Community College President Jay Allen, who also spoke at the meeting, said these are issues the state is trying to tackle. Only 42 percent of Mississippians have some type of post-high school degree or certificate, with only 35 percent having an associate’s degree or higher.

“If Mississippi wants to be competitive in the recruitment of jobs and attract new businesses that pay the types of wages and salaries that can assist Mississippians to reach that holy grail of economic self-sufficiency and decrease, ultimately, our poverty rates by doing so, we must increase the educational attainment achievement level within our state,” said Allen, who chairs the Education Achievement Council.

As states focus on increasing the number of citizens to receive certificates or degrees after high school, 42 of them have set an “attainment goal,” Allen said. He said the EAC is planning to announce Mississippi’s goal in April, along with a plan on how to get more people into community colleges and four-year universities.

“We know that our adults will lack the educational requirements for the jobs of the future,” he said. “We need every Mississippian to grow in education, in skills and the ability to provide for their family. We must close those achievement gaps by race, by gender and ethnicity, if we are to meet the workforce needs of tomorrow.”

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