PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS STAND FIRM AGAINST VOUCHER PUSH

School choice programs redirecting public funds to private schools might be popular in K-12 education elsewhere in the U.S., but the movement struggles for a foothold in Mississippi.

One of the main reasons for that failure here is the dogged and proper determination to keep public money public by parents whose children are being educated in a state that traditionally has strained to meet public education budget needs, while aiming to cut taxes of every stripe.

These parents are involved in a coordinated effort of fund-raising, research and training of thousands of Mississippi parents and advocates for the enhancement of public education, conducted under the umbrella of The Parents Campaign, a 501c3 organization founded in 2013.

The group's executive director, Port Gibson native and Clinton resident Nancy Disharoon Loome, has been steadfast in the Capitol hallways on several matters of consequence in the never-ending fight to properly fund public education in this state.

She's had to conduct these battles against pushes for the "choice" initiative from Mississippi's powerful executive and legislative leadership, as well as from U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker who recently told Empower Mississippi's podcast that he supports school choice.

Gov. Tate Reeves, hoping to make school choice a jewel in his crown of achievements after a two-term reign over the state, is considering calling lawmakers back for a special session to reconsider the matter after losing on the issue again this year.

House Speaker Jason White, generally considered the state's second most powerful political leader, has been a full-bore backer of what he calls "education freedom," a plan to pay up to $7,000 of state money annually for a student's private school costs or homeschooling. The House narrowly passed such a bill this year. The Senate never considered it.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, has his own version of "school choice," but instead of vouchers paying the costs of moving from public to private schools, he prefers allowing students to move freely from one public school district to another.

As she achieved success again in thwarting passage of school choice through public vouchers, Loome also exhibited her grit in another public education wrestling match—raising the average state teacher's salary. The parents group fought the whole 2026 regular session to secure a better raise than the $2,000 increase passed by lawmakers.

"While any pay raise is helpful, this is very disappointing news," she said on March 27. "A $2,000 pay raise is unlikely to stem the exodus of teachers from the classroom or to attract new teachers into the profession … Mississippi's public school teachers … deserve better." The state's average teacher wage will remain on the bottom, as other states readjust their pay scales and increase teachers' salaries.

A survey shows the average teacher salary in Mississippi currently stands at $53,704–some $22,000 less than nationally.

U.S. education analysts have praised Mississippi's K-12 system for improving state testing and higher graduation rates.

Complicating further consideration by lawmakers of the school choice issue could be a recent report by Mississippi Today that a program allowing state tax credits for private schools has gone awry because some money received by the schools allegedly has not been spent directly for education purposes, as intended. Some of it went for capital projects at private schools against the program's requirements.

I would expect Nancy Loome and her tight cordon of parents to have that disturbing report at the ready in future discussions about spending Mississippi's thin reservoir of public education funds on private matters.