Jackson Jambalaya

The Lieutenant Governor's office issued the following press release on charter schools legislation:

"JACKSON – Senate and House leadership today reached an agreement on allowing public charter schools in Mississippi. The Senate agreed to the exact language in House Bill 369 that already passed the House to give Mississippi parents an avenue to have school choice. Both chambers will vote on the compromise for House Bill 369 this week.

“Though we hoped for a bill that would not send the message that ‘C’ was ok in Mississippi, we agreed to compromise to give 125,000 Mississippi children an opportunity for success,” Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said. “Public charter schools give students another avenue for academic success, and the Legislature will continue to look for innovative ways to raise the level of achievement for students.”

The bill allows public charter schools to open in D- and F-rated school districts with only approval from the state authorizing board. School boards in districts rated as A, B or C can veto a public charter school application and deny giving parents educational choice."

KF note: Check out what survived. I wonder who the House already has in mind for this job:

"9)The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shall appoint an individual to serve as the executive director and general counsel of the board. In addition to possessing the qualifications established by the board which are based on national best practices, the executive director and general counsel must be licensed to practice law in the State of Mississippi and must possess an understanding of state and federal education law. The executive director and general counsel, who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the board, shall devote his full time to the proper administration of the board and the duties assigned to him by the board and shall be paid a salary established by the board, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board. Subject to the availability of funding, the executive director and general counsel may employ such administrative staff as may be necessary to assist the director and board in carrying out the duties and directives of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board."

The Senate bill did not require the executive director be an attorney. Not a peep out of the loud-mouthed good gummint conservatives hosting talk shows and blogs. Its all about the payoff.