Senate OKs 40-9; up to House now
A bi ll requiri ng t hat Mississippi school superi ntendents be appointed rat her t han elected clea red the full Senate Thursday, moving t he state a step closer to a major change in the way many loca l school districts are governed.
The approval of Senate Bill 2438 by a 40-9 vote,
Kwith bipartisan support, came a day after the Senate’s Education Committee approved the bill. If OK’d by the House, where si mila r legislation has stalled in the past, superintendents in all of Mississippi’s 144 school districts would be appointed by local school boards beginning Jan. 1, 2019.
Superintendents elect- athie Richardson got a text early Thursday from her daughter-in-law: Get free trees. “She has an ear for free things and a huge backyard,” Richardson said by way of explanation as she loaded a Loblolly Pine, a River Birch and a couple of other trees she couldn’t identify into the back of her SUV.
Richardson of Southaven was one of more than 400 who showed up at Snowden Grove Park in Southaven Thursday morning for the annual Tree Giveaway sponsored by the DeSoto County Soil and Water Conservation District. The agency holds the event each February in conjunction with Mississippi Arbor Day, celebrated the second Friday of February.
Meleiah Tyus, information and education specialist with the Soil and Water Conservation District, said the event is always a big hit, and this year was no exception.
“We’ve had more than 300 so far,” she said shortly before ed before t hen cou ld serve out their term. Also, boards could appoint a previously elected superintendent to continue.
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who oversees the Senate, expressed appreciation to senators for approving the measure.
“L i mit in g t he pool of qua li f ied educators to politica l boundaries ha mpers many school dist ricts’ opportunities for success,” Reeves said in a statement. “Districts should be able to perform broad sea rches to f ind leaders who will inspire teachers and encourage students to learn.”
DeSoto County Schools, the state’s largest district wit h more than 33,000 students in 42 schools, is one of 55 Mississippi districts with an elected superintendent. Cory Uselton was elected in November.
State Sen. Chris Massey, R-Nesbit, said Wednesday he would not support the measure without a provision allowing districts to choose between electing and appointing. The county’s other senator on the Education Committee, Kevin Blackwell of Southaven, supported the bill.
In two unanimous decisions, the Tennessee Supreme Court r uled Thursday that police have the right to stop motorists if their vehicles cross roadway markings, even if briefly, essentially making it easier to arrest and convict people driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The decisions, authored by Justice Jeffrey Bivens, arose from two DUI arrests — one in Williamson County and one in Knox County — that came after police stopped motorists for crossing roadway markings.
The drivers i n both cases a rg ued that the evidence that they were under the influence was obtained illegally because officers never had a right to stop their vehicles in the first place and should be thrown out.
The cour t looked at two separate Tennessee laws and found that police had the right to stop both motorists.
One of the opinions noted that the justices recognized the law on driving on the right side of the roadway “criminalizes a common driving infraction and provides police officers with a great deal of discretion in determining whether to initiate a traffic stop.”