HB 2 voted down unanimously…
- Thread starter L4Dawg
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The polls say otherwise actually. It's not the base issue. It's how it's being enforced and actually implemented. That election in Texas was a huge swing in a solidly GOP district.
I mean, if the concern is that poor people will have options, you should definitely be against school choice.
But that's pretty 17ing harsh for about half or more of the geographic area in our state. If you don't want a huge wasteland supported by the Coast, Tupelo, Hattiesburg, and South Memphis, we probably should give people in ****** school districs an option for publicly funded decent and safe education.
You look at one, I look at another. Anyone can find a poll to back up their sentiment. Cygnal just came out with one that CNN has been talking about for two days. 54% approval for ice. 73% want all illegals removed from the country.
Just about every poll, even the ones you cite, have the GOP up double digits on the issue of immigration. This is something that the country voted for. You've got a small, merry band of idiots in Minnesota creating havoc and national media is running with it like it's happening on every street in America. It's not reality.
The enforcement issue is also a democrat problem. These levels of enforcement are only happening in these sanctuary places where local government is resisting instead of cooperating. People are a lot smarter than many give them credit for. Sanctuary policies are wildly unpopular among the majority of this country.
Like I said, I hope they keep leaning into it. It's a loser for them. First they thought they had a winner with Defund the Police and then they put on body cams and it all went away. Now they think they've got a winner with Defund ICE. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Good summary. I’ll also add, I’ve seen this happen in Jefferson County, KY (Louisville). Generally speaking, the western half of the county had horrid public schools while the eastern half was much better. In comes school choice and now they’re all.
As you stated, this will have a disproportionate impact on the areas surrounding Jxn as a larger metro area in the state. There’s a reason an apartment complex already exists just south of NWR. If you know anyone that teaches there, why don’t you ask them if it makes the school system better. Madison will fall once Queen Mary goes to glory. People will simply continue to sprawl out.
Study the history of Desoto County schools. There’s a reason Desoto Central and now Lewisburg High School exist. It ain’t because the top performers out of Memphis are bringing their superior value system to Southaven High. Like it or not, it’s fact.
The added bonus, aside from wasting more taxpayer dollars on vouchers? People with children very often live where they do simply because of school districts. Once that district goes tits up, my property values face plant. Yet another positive outcome.*
Write it down. Pisgah will be NWR circa 2007 in less than 10 years. A top performing school with a swarm of like-minded individuals (and tax base) to support it. NWR will fall further. Flowood becomes Ridgeland. Old Fannin becomes County Line Road East. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Perhaps it’s inevitable? This program only fast tracks it. The idea that districts will refuse dollars is ludicrous.
In your opinion, is there any weight to the idea that people who want to transfer from a bad school/district to a good school/district will typically be the 'better' students in that school/district?
- they need to have the motivation to seek out a better school situation for their education.
- they need the family infrastructure that allows them to self transport to the better school.
I have found that those two things are significant factors in my state, when it comes to open enrollment. And statistically speaking, those two realities are reliable indicators of a student group which is motivated to learn and cause fewer issues in the classroom.
I think you'd see lots of school districts just refuse transfers because they don't want the legal liability of only allowing in transfers that won't be disruptive. If they are allowed to charge tuition like some districts currently do for out of district students, that may be enough to make them comfortable doing it.
I don't think you'd see any political will to force them to from the state level. People pushing school choice are almost 100% going to be indifferent about whether a good government run school is an option, as long as there is some choice.
They're not being strong armed. All of them - Dems and Republicans in the state house - are owned by BIPEC and ALEC. Neither of those lobbying groups gives a damn about education in Mississippi, but they damn sure love the political theater and keeping voters agitated and stupid.
This is year 3 of ESA/Vouchers.
This is year 4 of open enrollment to any district in the state during any part of the school year(there used to be an enrollment deadline so schools could budget, but 17 budgeting...right?).
In addition to schools absolutely being able to decline an open enrollment request due to specialized needs and capacity...
- student behavior is another utilized reason districts have declined requests.
- an open enrolled student that is categorized as Chronically Absent(more than 10% absent) can be removed by the enrolled district and the student forced to go back to their home district. This is because districts are measured by the state on Chronic Absentee rate and extra work is required when students exceed the 10% threshold.
Its year 4 and the good schools havent gotten worse. Its year 4 and schools around the state absolutely have declined open enrollment requests for multiple accepted reasons(this reality is opposite of the claim I initially responded to).
If anything is going to hurt currently prospering school districts in my state in 6 years from now(10 years after open enrollment law changed), it will not be open enrollment and will instead be private school vouchers. Handing private schools tax payer dollars and requiring 0 oversight on how those dollars are spent(when the same tax dollars are heavily scrutinized in public schools), or requiring those schools to report student progress, is unconscionable.
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It's amazing to me the things people will write or say outloud in the context of school choice. I completely expect people to think things like "my property value is more important than poor children having access to a decent and safe eduction." I don't expect them to express that opinion.Good summary. I’ll also add, I’ve seen this happen in Jefferson County, KY (Louisville). Generally speaking, the western half of the county had horrid public schools while the eastern half was much better. In comes school choice and now they’re all
As you stated, this will have a disproportionate impact on the areas surrounding Jxn as a larger metro area in the state. There’s a reason an apartment complex already exists just south of NWR. If you know anyone that teaches there, why don’t you ask them if it makes the school system better. Madison will fall once Queen Mary goes to glory. People will simply continue to sprawl out.
Study the history of Desoto County schools. There’s a reason Desoto Central and now Lewisburg High School exist. It ain’t because the top performers out of Memphis are bringing their superior value system to Southaven High. Like it or not, it’s fact.
The added bonus, aside from wasting more taxpayer dollars on vouchers? People with children very often live where they do simply because of school districts. Once that district goes tits up, my property values face plant. Yet another positive outcome.*
The continued sprawl driven by lumping in de facto tuition with property values is another good reason to support school choice. I don't know if Jackson can be saved, but I know it can't be saved if you take the position of "if you want to live in Jackson with a family, you have to pay $8k to $10k per kid and drive someowhere really inconvenient for them to have a decent education, or you have can pay $14k to $20k per kid and have a more convenient location for them to have a decent education." It's bat **** crazy to just hang an anchor around your only city in the state. Also bat **** crazy to hang an anchor like that around the entire Delta. "Hey, you're probably going to make lower wages to live here, but don't worry, you only have to pay more like $7k per kid per year to get an education. Probably won't be a great one, but it will be ok and safe."
ON a related topic, almost everybody on this board should be taking the maximum tax credit for donating to approved Scholarship Granting Organizations when they become available. That could really help out the poorer areas of the state if people support it.
They aren't pushing to defund ICE other than a few radicals. The way this is being enforced is a big loser for the GOP in the swing districts that actually do matter. If the Texas by election is any indication, it may be a problem in some solidly GOP areas with a large Hispanic population. Trump made big gains with citizen Hispanics last time. That election says that is evaporating quickly. This election will be fought in the middle, not on the bases.
I am hoping Tater's political career died with his fumbling the ball during this ice storm.
If I see a true school choice option that:
1) provides 100% tuition and fees to a school of the student's choosing
2) provides transportation to/from the school of their choosing
then, I'll believe that the "choice" might be about helping everyone. I'd be very curious to know how the private schools plan to accommodate all the new people they will be helping. At about $300/sf for new construction of classrooms it adds up pretty quickly and you can't be landlocked or you can't build.
Example JA: ~$14,700/yr for tuition, with most people paying 60-90% of that amount.
At 60%, or ~$8,800 dollars, that $7,000 to go there leaves someone paying over $100/month just in tuition, never mind the other associated costs/fees and cost of transportation assuming the parent has reliable transportation, and has a job that allows them to take and pick up the student. That seems like a pretty poor assumption as I have a white collar job with flexibility and it would be difficult to commit to taking/getting my kid every day.
Pile on additional fees and it gets worse. And forget about having money for anything extracurricular.
However, if my kids are at JA, that $7k extra will be really nice to have in my pocket while also being very detrimental to the schools that are left behind for the poor. I'm sure that the Christian founding of these schools would preclude them from doing anything but helping the poor...
I don't know what the hell all the rest of that is about (sounds like I don't want to know) but thanks for linking that Thomas Sowell interview... the man is a national treasure.
I'm hoping we learned something about having plows staged, ready and available when this stuff is imminent. I fear we have not.
You should keep up with the news.
Schumer just stood up in the Senate this week saying they're ready to shut down the government over ice funding. They narrowly avoided it in the house.
You keep going back to this texas election as if it matters. It's a special state senate race in an off year. It doesn't matter. It's not a foretelling of anything. It's a turnout issue - and the GOP notoriously doesn't turn out for special elections.
RNC has 300m on hand for midterms and DNC is still in debt. They haven't even started correcting the narrative that the dishonest media is putting out there.
But everyone with an IQ above 50 doesn't have a problem with how ICE is conducting itself in Minnesota. It's an issue created by dishonest local politicians that doesn't exist in most places. The media is using it to prey on stupid people's emotions. Enforcement of immigration law right now is happening just like it did under the Obama admin. The same guy that liberals want to hang in effigy today (Homan) got a freaking medal from Obama for doing the same thing.
This issue is a loser for democrats. And like I said, I hope they keep leaning into it.
What's going to happen when someone sues a school district for refusing to accept them on a transfer?
You are correct. Polling is now strictly a political tool. Brent Buchanan at Cygnal is a great example. Good Alabamian. Had the good fortune to speak and work with him on a few occasions.
Buchanan is brilliant and recognized early on the broader industry problem where polls are used to "attempt to drive opinion" instead of just measuring it, a general criticism that others might apply to any partisan firm, including his own. Buchanan developed the proprietary "Emotive Analysis" method, which quantitatively measures voters' emotional drivers rather than just their logical stated opinions.
If you Google Cygnal you will find there is very limited direct, critical analysis of Cygnal Polling's methodology or bias. The available information is predominantly from Cygnal’s own press releases and reports, which highlight their high accuracy ratings.
Cygnal spends a lot of money and has done a fantastic job at "Black Hat SEO" since 2016.
The average voter is a moron, but damn we got some real dummies if all the voters in polls like the two listed below have sub50 IQs.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fo...ay-ice-too-aggressive-up-10-points-since-july
59% of voters say ICE is too aggressive, up 10 points since July
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/us/politics/poll-ice-immigration.html
Just 36 percent of voters said they approved of the way ICE was handling its job, according to the poll, while 63 percent disapproved
Thanks for proving my point, glfr. Never change.
The average voter is a moron, but damn we got some real dummies if all the voters in polls like the two listed below have sub50 IQs.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fo...ay-ice-too-aggressive-up-10-points-since-july
59% of voters say ICE is too aggressive, up 10 points since July
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/us/politics/poll-ice-immigration.html
Just 36 percent of voters said they approved of the way ICE was handling its job, according to the poll, while 63 percent disapproved
Anyone can make the results of a poll be what they want it to be by how they choose their sample, how the poll is taken, and how the questions are worded. And they routinely do. Most polls are like most news media. Biased and have an agenda.
Using your own experience, think about how stupid the average American is.
then remember - HALF OF THEM ARE EVEN STUPIDER THAN THAT!
then remember - HALF OF THEM ARE EVEN STUPIDER THAN THAT!
You neeed to look at stuff outside your personal echo chamber.
That's why schools adjacent to a bad school district would likely refuse all transfers. Once you start an admissions process, you are going to be at risk of a lawsuit. Pretty much any criteria you have to ensure you get students that are not disruptive to the environment is going to have an disparate impact of some sort, so you'll probably see them just not do it. Again, unless they can charge tuition on top of the state money. I know some school districts accept out of district students for relatively nominal tuition (like $1,200 a year or something). Schools like Madison or NWR may not feel like that's significant enough to ensure they get reasonably involved parents, but probably at something like $3k they would? But don't know if what they are allowed to charge is set by statute or regulation.
Did you read it? He cites some extremely troubling poll numbers for the GOP. And yes, it's the Wall Street Journal. That's not some bastion of liberalism.
1) There is a lot of the state outside of Jackson and very few schools outside of Jackson charge tuition that is much more than the state contributions.
2) I'll never understand the sentiment of "this may not fix everythign, so let's 17 the poor harder." I assure you that they get 17ed on a regular basis due to both preventable and not reasonably preventable reasons. If a few of them get 17ed a little less hard, they won't be missing out on some grand 17ing experience. They'll still get 17ed plenty.
3) I don't understand why somebody that lives in Madison or Tupelo should get the benefits of decent and safe public schools but people in Jackson should just get 17ed. If you want to charge tuition to everybody that makes more than say 300% of the median income or whatever, sure, charge it. Will just be another progressive tax. But why say "you get 17ed if you live in Jackson. You should move to Madison or NWR or CLinton if you don't want to get 17ed." What does that accomplish? I'd be perfectly fine limiting vouchers to schools that at least hold a certain number of spots available for the cost of the voucher, with those slots filled based on need. But I don't get the heart burn that people have about people in ****** school districts getting some educational benefits of their dollars. You're not morally superior because you arrange your life around being in a good school district. I'm very glad that I ahve the benefit of a good school district and don't have to pay private school tuition, but it wouldn't bother me in the least if everybody in a ****** school district got to take the state money allocated per kid to whereever they can get a decent education. Why should they have to move school districts to get the benefits of state tax money? It's just bizarre the animosity people have to people not in good school districts. I appreciate the poor souls that are trying to make it in places like Jackson and the Delta. I don't get the glee that some people apparently feel over them not getting access to decent public funded education unless they're willing to move.
Yup. For election polls, they will generally try to be as accurate as possible the last poll before the election because their reliability is judged off that, so even if they are using the poll to push a message earlier in the campaign, they are incentivized to be accurate at least right before the election. Public opinion polls don't really have a check like that. There is a credibility check if you want your polls to persuade politicians, but if you just want to help push public opinion, there's no check because I don't think the general public has any opinions about any particular pollsters.
Yep, Such a winning issue that they are withdrawing 700 agents immediately and looking to wrap up Operation Metro Surge.
I may not have been clear. This doesn't help poor people in any way. They cannot afford to take advantage of the "choice" offer, nor can they afford to move to Madison or elsewhere. Neither of them works, but the school "choice", as proposed is not a choice for poor people. Therefore it will only benefit people who already don't need the benefit, at the detriment of the schools in Jackson.
Today, roughly 21% of Jackson kids attend private schools. They would keep on doing so, I'm sure. That's ~5,369 students whose tax dollars are currently supporting public schools in Jackson. If the bill was passed, that represents $37,583,000 taken out of JPS. If there are some outliers who are currently JPS but with $7k help could go private, that number increases, and they get helped. I suspect that would be very few as the median income of those families in JPS is ~$43,000.
What does need fixing is that we have about 56 public schools serving ~20k students in JPS whereas the ~25 area private schools serve 5,369 students. JPS needs substantial physical plant and administrative consolidation. Maybe keep existing zoning and reduce to 1 K-12 school for each zone? Government, however, does not know how to shrink...
DHS is about to have 350,000 Hatian immigrants in the U.S. declared illegal. They need those agents elsewhere.
There are a lot of them but one of my all time favorites. The number of times this routine ran through my head during my working says is TNTC.
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