By John Mayo (D., DeSoto County)

Mississippi House of Representatives

The House Education Committee passed out a bill that essentially allows parents to take over a failing school.  The discussion lasted about two hours.

Here is the bill in a nutshell:

A.  The school has been failing for three years;

B.  A group of parents have the opportunity to begin a petition drive to assume management of the school. They must submit a plan to the Department of Education

with many conditions to be met addressing student achievement, curriculum and much more;.

C. MDE approves the plan and then the parents begin a petition drive;

D. If 50 percent plus one of the parents of students (each family getting one vote) vote to "take over the school" the petition is successful;

E. Parents attending the school select a five-member board of parents who have

children attending the school; and

F. There are a number of steps to accomplish, but essentially the five-member board of parents becomes the management board of the school.

The bill was an amendment to a senate bill that establishes a true charter school route for local schools.  The House version struck all of the senate language and replaced it with more detailed language of what I put above.  By tomorrow morning, the House Language should be on the Internet and I will send you the location.

I tried a series of seven amendments (one passed) to change the makeup of the Board to two parents and three people from the community appointed by the State Board of Education; to require the management board to contract with a regionally or nationally recognized organization to run the day to day operations of the school; and as I write this, I forget the others.

The one that passed was one to require that the principal hired by the management board attend or have attended an MDE approved leadership course at a university.

There is little that can dissuade me from the opinion that if every school had a principal who can lead as opposed to manage his or her school, then we wouldn't be where we are today. I know of one school in my district where level three was not good enough for the superintendent.  The superintendent let the principal go, got another, and the following year the school was level five.  Nothing changed in that school but the principal.  She was not only an educator, she was and remains a leader.

During the debate, my desk mate, a teacher of 29 years as was his wife, said he and

other teachers tired of every two years (my words) something new, innovative, or the last brilliant idea came from some guru that was thrust down to the classroom.  Got so, he said, that we found ourselves "innovating" more than we were teaching.  He did a good job explaining himself.

I ended up voting for the bill to at least get it onto the floor and possibly into conference committee.   On a list of schools that are failing or in danger of failing, my district, except for DeSoto County, was too well represented.

Tonight is the deadline for all senate bills to get out of House committee.  There are several bills that will die including one to allow people to carry guns in parks and restaurants.  Nothing like grandchildren playing on the monkey bars in a city park and a shootout between some purp who's scared _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  and a citizen packing heat.

I wonder out loud if gang members who have no record, are licensed to carry, will use "carry in the park" legislation as an excuse for defending themselves from a "perceived" threat from a rival gang member who is illegally carrying.  Meanwhile, because neither knows gun discipline, civilians are killed in the crossfire.

The first time (three days after arrival) I and a few others with me were shot at, we mowed down everything in front of us...that's just the way it is.  Ended up the Vietnamese Army and local irregulars were out in the jungle on a training mission.  Luckily, no one was hurt...they, the Vietnamese, did actually put a hole or two through the vehicle I was riding in before we returned fire.

I can only imagine what it would be like if a kid with a gun started wildly shooting if he saw someone else carrying.  I know, I'll get e mails back saying the purp would never get off a shot while he falling to the ground with your bullet in him.  It's just not that simple.

I am all for defending your home, office or car, and, to that extension, your tent or mobile home at a state park, but I am just not sure about carrying a gun onto a playground park.

I spent some time on this because I understand that while the bill died, there will be an amendment on the floor to allow guns to be carried into public parks.  We'll see what comes out of this.

On that note, I think I am going to go see "Cop Out" with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.  I am in the mood for another shoot ‘em up.

John