What is your experience with K-12 public schools, personally and/or with your children or family?
I am very familiar with K-12 education in MS. I graduated in 1993 from Olive Branch High School. My son graduated from Hernando High School and my other son is currently enrolled in Hernando High. I know many educators here in my community. I speak with them often. So, I am aware of the issues some of them and their students are facing.

Do you agree that the Mississippi Student Funding Formula (MSFF) should be fully funded every year? If yes, what actions will you take to ensure full funding? If no, explain why.
MSFF should be funded and should always be funded. I will vote for any bill or sponsor any such legislation during my time in the Senate that fully funds public education in our state.

What will you do to ensure state revenue that is sufficient to provide all of the services Mississippi’s citizens need to lead productive lives?

Mississippi needs tax dollars for its budget from large corporations that operate here. Mississippi has many manufacturers and distributors who do a lot of business in this state. Corporations need to pay their fair share. Perhaps if that were the case, we could lower the unfair burden on poor families and middle-class Mississippians who struggle to cover what corporations are not paying.

Will you oppose vouchers that send taxpayer dollars to private schools, religious schools, home schools, or virtual schools? Why or why not?   

I will oppose vouchers for private schools. Private schools have nothing to do with the state. The state of Mississippi cannot regulate private institutions, their curriculum, nor the educational competence of its teachers. Why should public citizens pay for a private institution?

Do you agree that all K-12 schools that receive taxpayer dollars, including private voucher schools, should be accountable to taxpayers for the quality of education they provide, using the same accountability measures as public schools?   

If private schools did receive public vouchers, then inevitably, they would be beholden to state regulation in my opinion. However, as I stated, I do not support a voucher system for any private school. State money belongs to the state not to any private school.

Public schools serve the vast majority of Mississippi students with disabilities. Do you agree that special education services in public schools should be fully funded every year? If yes, how will you accomplish full funding? If no, explain why.

Yes, it is the responsibility of the state to fund special education for its citizens. I think that it goes without saying that the educational system owes a duty to its citizens to provide the best education possible (including providing for citizens with disabilities).

Do you agree that Mississippi should provide high-quality early childhood education statewide?   

Education is the single most important stepping stone for any citizen, “bar-none.” It allows a citizen (of any ethnic background) an equal opportunity based on merit alone to gain a pathway to success. Early childhood education provides a springboard for this success.

The nation’s top teachers say that the greatest barriers to school success for K-12 students are family stress, poverty, and learning and psychological problems. What steps do you believe legislators should take to alleviate these obstacles for Mississippi children?   

The schools of Mississippi need to be an “Oasis” for its children. It should be a place where they can come and lay whatever problems (at home) at the door. It must also be a blind system. It must treat each child as though they are its best. Any farmer can understand this principle, only through proper cultivation can you get the best crop.

In the 2022 Legislative Session, a significant teacher pay raise was passed, however the most recent national teacher salary surveys show that Mississippi is once again last in the nation in teacher pay. Do you support continued pay increases to ensure that Mississippi’s teacher salaries keep pace with inflation and salaries in our neighboring states?   

I find it discouraging and shameful that teachers’ salaries are as low as they are in Mississippi. Instead of being last, we must try to be first in this arena. We owe it to ourselves as a society to pay our best and brightest college educated men and women the capacity to “make a living” doing what they love to do for our kids. Anything less is unacceptable.

Do you agree that retired educators (and other retired state employees) should be able to draw their retirement while serving in the Legislature?   

I believe that educators should be able to draw a retirement while serving in our State Legislature. Why should an educator who has served perhaps as many as forty years have to give up their pension for serving the common good in the state’s legislature? I find it disheartening that greedy conservatives lack the willingness to offer this to its most educated and hardest working citizens.

Legislators have little or no staff to help them understand the many bills they must consider. Before introducing or supporting a bill that could affect public education, will you commit to seeking input from teachers, principals, superintendents, and parents of public school students in your district? Who will be advising you on education policies?

Input is needed from educators before deciding on or voting for a bill that involves education. I think it is essential to get unanimity from all sides in matters like these because they affect our community so much. Regarding education, I think it is imperative to hear the people’s voice on issues that affect our students and educators. I will commit to seeking this kind of input from superintendents, educators, and students in my district before voting on legislation that might impact education in our state. Some of the advice that I would like to use would come from members of the board of education for DCS, TCS, school staff, and the students so that their voices are heard in our State Senate.

In the past, legislators have received tremendous pressure from the leaders of their chamber (House or Senate), state and party leaders, and corporate lobbyists to vote in ways that could contradict the will of their constituents and harm their communities. How would you respond to such pressure?

I will vote according to the consensus of the constituents of my district. I will do everything in my power to serve their will. I will always hold their voice up first as a priority over any secondary influence.