Missing woman’s husband arrested on arson charge
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves made his case for education reform Wednesday in a county where some reform measures, such as charter schools, draw a tepid response thanks to a strong public school system.
But Reeves, named “Education Reformer of the Year” in June by a group that pushed reform issues, told a DeSoto County gathering not all Mississippi students are so lucky.
“I believe that every kid in DeSoto County has the opportunity for success,” Reeves told the DeSoto County Economic Development Council quarterly luncheon at Whispering Woods Hotel and Convention Center in Olive Branch. “But I also know that every kid in Mississippi doesn’t have the opportunity to grow up in DeSoto County. And so the reforms we have in place are designed to deal with every kid.”
Reeves, a Republican, offered his views on education in the context of a broader discussion about job development. He said having an educated workforce is a key component to attracting jobs.
Empower Mississippi, which pushed for reforms such as charter schools, honored Reeves in June as its top education reformer. The group was widely credited with defeating several DeSoto County legislative incumbents and replacing them with candidates more supportive of charter schools and other reform measures. The group also helped defeat the Initiative 42 school funding proposal considered by voters last year seeking to force more state funding of public education. The proposal had strong backing from DeSoto school leadership.
Reeves, though, clicked off how he believes the state is moving in the right direction on education and how funding is, in fact, growing for schools.
“In the current year’s budget, education spending is up a little over $400 million over what it was when I took office five years ago,” Reeves said. “Of that, a little over $275 million is for K-12.”
Additionally, Reeves said the state increased spending a little more than $125 million for community colleges and higher education.
Reeves said the state also has improved education by addressing the thorny issue of school consolidation. He noted that 152 districts in the state’s 82 counties have been whittled to 139 districts since he took office.
Charter schools have gained little traction in DeSoto County, where the countywide public district — the state’s largest — has an A rating from the state. The bigger issue locally is state funding to public schools under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which has received full funding only two years since it began.
Supt. Cory Uselton, like former Supt. Milton Kuykendall, says the chronic underfunding by the state hits a high-growth district like DeSoto especially hard. The district has avoided teacher cutbacks but has made significant cuts in non-classroom positions through consolidation and attrition. 901-529-6531
The husband of a woman reported missing this week was arrested Wednesday in a separate case, according to police.
Randall Freeman, 31, has been charged with aggravated arson for allegedly throwing a firebomb into a house on Sunday. He is behind bars at the Shelby County Jail.
His wife, 29-year-old Keila Ashford Freeman, was reported missing Tuesday. Police have searched their home and other locations but have not found her yet.
According to the affidavit, the firebombing happened at a house in the 7000 block of Germanshire Lane in Southeast Memphis. The suspect threw the bomb through a window, causing the house’s interior to burst into flames. Five people were inside the home, but made it out safely.
According to the affidavit, Freeman was seen on surveillance video throwing the bomb. The connection between the home and the Freemans was unclear late Wednesday. Freeman has previous arrests for theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000 in 2003 and aggravated robbery in 2002.