10 years since Initiative 42 and the continued fight against school vouchers

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) —Ten years ago, Mississippians trudged into the voting booths to decide whether to hold the state legislature accountable to follow their own funding formula to adequately fund Mississippi’s public schools.

The Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), passed in 1997, has only
been fully funded twice, both times before Republicans had established a supermajority.
Initiative 42 aimed to follow the MAEP funding formula to “protect each child’s fundamental
right to educational opportunity through the 12th grade by amending Section 201 of the
Mississippi Constitution to require that the State must provide and the legislature must fund an
adequate and efficient system of free public schools.” 1 Although Initiative 42 failed (which some
activists have attributed to legislators’ tinkering resulting in confusing wording on the ballot), it
was a significant turning point in organizing in Mississippi, bringing together Republicans,
Democrats, and independents and fostering a grassroots movement that shifted their focus to
anti-privatization efforts. Given Mississippi’s history of segregation and failure to adequately
fund public schools, it’s no wonder so many Mississippians may not support diverting public
money to private schools. Although some leaders have been trying to implement vouchers for
over a decade, grassroots organizing has paid off in mounting a fight against significant
privatization efforts.

While voucher programs may give the illusion of choice and better opportunities for families,
research on their effects has shown limited improvements at best, with voucher advocates often
misrepresenting empirical evidence. 2 Implementing a voucher policy that will divert public funds
to private schools when Mississippi’s schools remain inequitable will further exacerbate the
existing inequality of your zip code and your neighbor’s property taxes determining whether
your child attends a school with sufficient resources. Furthermore, private schools are not held
accountable to public school standards. After the conviction of Nancy and Zachary New in 2022
for misuse of public Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, Mississippians
might think twice before handing over public money to private organizations.

Even without vouchers, communities often depend on parents and volunteers to fill funding gaps
left by the government. However, this reliance disproportionately falls on women. Mothers have
played a leading role in advocating for public schools before, during, and after the campaign for
Initiative 42. Women are more likely to work as teachers in public schools, volunteer in schools,
and participate in community efforts to address funding shortfalls. Women in these cases serve as what sociologist Jessica Calarco calls America’s social safety net—compensating for the services
that the state does not perform in the “do-it-yourself society” Americans have embraced.
Mississippi cannot afford to continue to DIY basic services. After I interviewed 33 women
involved in community organizing and volunteer work in public schools, it became apparent that
while men are often active in supporting schools through sports and booster activities, women
volunteers perform different labor that is more likely to be exposed to state funding gaps. In a
state that currently ranks 48 th in women’s representation in the state legislature, our legislators
would do well to listen to the actual women at work in their communities across the state who
address these funding shortfalls.

In the wake of DOGE cuts and other austerity measures by the current administration,
Mississippi stands to potentially lose supplementary funds for key resources such as special
education, Title I grants for low-income communities, and forms of emergency funding. So why
can’t local communities fill the gap left by the state and federal government? Filling the gap
requires significant time, money, and resources—all of which, in this economy, are already
stretched thin for many parents across the state. In my study, many Mississippi parents indicated
that they don’t have the job flexibility to take time off work to supplement their children’s school
needs. For working-class parents who struggle to make ends meet, engagement with their school
districts remains largely inaccessible. Even parents with resources and graduate degrees need
professional skills like grant writing and fundraising, which many lack. Finally, even parents
with flexible jobs who have these skills to support school funding may experience severe burnout
and pressure from the yearly cycle of trying to compensate for shortfalls.

Should we be relying on volunteers to help provide an art teacher, a special needs program, or
meals for kids? Probably not. This funding model is unsustainable. Having strong schools helps
develop the next workforce, ensure that we have engaged citizens participating in government,
encourage more business investment and development in our communities, improve property
values, and retain local talent to prevent brain drain. Spending less on public schools harms
communities across the state and will have lasting consequences. Change is only possible when
you use your voice. Call your state representative and senator now or during this upcoming
session to have a say in this decision.

Biography: Emily Tingle is a native of Vicksburg, MS. She received her master’s and bachelor’s
degrees at Mississippi State University, where she conducted empirical research on the aftermath
of Initiative 42. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia, where her
dissertation focuses on electoral politics in Mississippi and Georgia.

Emily Tingle

Vicksburg, Miss.

_____________________________________________________________

1 https://sos.ms.gov/elections-voting/initiative-measure-42-0
2 Lubienski, Christopher, and T. Jameson Brewer. 2016. “An Analysis of Voucher Advocacy: Taking a Closer Look
at the Uses and Limitations of ‘Gold Standard’ Research.” Peabody Journal of Education 91 (4): 455–72.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2016.1207438; Carnoy, Martin. 2017. School Vouchers Are Not a Proven Strategy
for Improving Student Achievement: Studies of U.S. and International Voucher Programs Show That the Risks to
School Systems Outweigh Insignificant Gains in Test Scores and Limited Gains in Graduation Rates. Economic
Policy Institute.