In 1973, my folks had a decision to make: renovate the little home they had lived in since moving to Tupelo in 1950 or purchasing a new, larger home that had been built a few miles outside the city limits.
By that time, my folks’ financial situation had improved, mainly because their six kids began to grow up and move out. By 1973, just two of us remained.
There was nothing really wrong with our little house on Simpson Street, especially as the number of residents declined. But the house was showing its age, and so was the neighborhood.
The new house had a lot going for it. Everything was new and more up to date. It also sat on an acre-and-a-half lot, which was of particular interest to my dad, who could convert a lot of that space to his vegetable garden, fruit trees and flowers.
The houses on Simpson street were four to an acre.
Renovation would be cheaper, but my folks could afford to pay a little more for a new house, which is what they did.
We may have moved, but all these years later, I still consider the house on Simpson Street as home. It’s where my childhood memories were made.
It appears the Mississippi legislature is considering a move, too, as it ponders the future of the Mississippi School for Math and Science. Founded by the legislature in 1987, MSMS has been located on the campus of Mississippi University for Women since its inception. It’s been a great place for the state’s only residential public high school to grow up. It’s fair to say MSMS has flourished here in Columbus. Almost from the start, MSMS emerged as the top academic public school in the state and among the best schools in the country. In a state where public education has often been a source of embarrassment, MSMS is one example where the state got something right. It has been an unqualified success.
But for about a year now, there have been rumblings about moving MSMS to new facilities in a “better neighborhood,” i.e., the campus of Mississippi State University. Former MSMS director Donnie Cook floated the idea in April of 2023, an idea that was so unpopular initially that it hastened his departure six months later.
Legislation ceding control of MUW to Mississippi State and another bill moving MSMS to the MSU campus never got out of committee.
As the 2025 legislative session approaches, there is some debate as to whether the subject of moving MSMS to the MSU campus will be resurrected.
I’m firmly convinced it is a bad idea. What’s “wrong” with MSMS at MUW can be easily remedied, which will be far less costly than building a new facility in Starkville. Columbus and MUW are “home.” It’s a small, safe neighborhood. More than 30 years attest to its suitability. Moving to a campus with a young adult population 20 times larger than the MUW population poses some serious questions about whether it is the best atmosphere for these young scholars.
For all the bells are whistles that go with a new school in a new community, what exists here in Columbus that is good for MSMS isn’t likely to be duplicated in Starkville, starting with what MSMS means to the Columbus community. MSMS has added significantly to the city’s understanding of its culture and history while MSMS students have generously served as mentors to young students in Columbus through mentoring and other educational events and opportunities.
There’s no doubt that MSMS needs better facilities. That shouldn’t be laid at the feet of MUW, though. It’s the legislature’s responsibility to provide the funds needed for those upgrades. Renovating or expanding the MSMS facilities at MUW would be far cheaper than building from scratch in Starkville.
There are other costs to consider that aren’t financial. What is lost when the school moves from the safety and familiarity of its small, intimate home in Columbus, to an unfamiliar new home where there are very few established bonds between MSMS and its new host school and city? It’s not a gamble worth taking.
There is, after all, no place like home.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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