Newsletters :: Re-Elect CECIL BROWN - Representative District 66 Mississippi

There is not much I can add to what has already been said about the horrible events of September 11. That day is clearly one of those defining moments in our history. The world has changed. It is a much sadder and more dangerous place. The loss was the result of a terrible and unspeakable evil. It is an evil that must be destroyed, and, God willing, so it shall.

In these difficult times, it is comforting that our President, our government, our military and our people have performed in an admirable fashion. We remain the greatest country in the world, and we will survive even this horrific and Godless outrage.

At the state level, as we head into the new legislative session in January, it appears that the state budget will once again be the focus of much of the debate. As we all now recognize, both the state and national economies have slowed perceptibly, and the terrible events of September 11 and their aftermath tipped us into a recession. As a result, tax collections have declined, and the Governor has once again been forced to cut budgets. (State law requires such cuts when revenues are less than 98% of projections.) I believe these cuts can be absorbed by not filling vacant employee positions, curtailing travel and delaying purchases of equipment. Eventually, however, repeated cuts will substantially affect government services.

On the heels of these cuts, last month the Joint Legislative Budget Committee released its budget recommendations for next fiscal year (the year that begins July 1, 2002). The news is not good. While the committee expects state revenues to grow by 4.3% over the current year revenues, that growth will not be enough to cover all of the existing commitments for future spending and maintain other services at current levels. As a result, the recommendations include substantial cuts in most state agencies and debilitating cuts in higher education.

There is simply not much good news in the package. It does include the third year of the teacher pay increase ($72.5 million). But there are serious cuts in Health, Mental Health, Environmental Quality, Human Services and other client-based agencies. In addition, the universities= and community colleges= operating budgets were slashed to the bone.

The fact that more than half the states are facing similar circumstances doesn’t= ease the pain. The next 18 months will be very difficult. However, in spite of the projected budget cuts, we must insure that critical needs will be met. There is no serious discussion of any tax increase, and I do not expect that issue to be considered during the session at all.

Another issue that will clearly capture the attention of the legislature as a whole is legislative redistricting. We are all aware the Congressional redistricting was required because of the 2000 census. That issue was not settled in the recent special session of the legislature and appears to be headed to court. Federal law also requires that legislative district lines be redrawn after each census to reflect population shifts and to preserve the Aone person, one vote@ principle. At this time, it appears that legislative redistricting will be addressed in the regular legislative session in January.

It is a difficult task. While the total membership of the Legislature will not change (122 House members and 52 Senators), in some parts of the state population shifts have been dramatic, and significant changes in legislative district lines are inevitable. For those legislators who intend to run for reelection, the stakes are high.

In addition to the various budget issues, I intend to focus on several other issues this year.

The Administrative Procedures Act remains high on the list. Secretary of State Eric Clark and I have agreed on a modified version of the bill, and we are hopeful that we can get it out of the committees and onto the floors of the House and Senate for debate. As you will recall, the bill requires more public involvement in the governmental rulemaking process and limits the power of unelected state agency personnel. The state agencies killed the bill last year, but I believe we have a reasonable chance this year of passing the bill in its modified form.

My other Agood government@ bill from last year, the Mississippi Internal Audit Act, is more problematical. Some members of the Legislature are concerned that it requires some state agencies to hire internal auditors at a time when their budgets are being cut. In spite of that, I intend to reintroduce the bill and keep the idea in front of the leadership. There is little question that we need more internal auditors in government and that they save money ($160 million over five years in Texas). Recently, for example, the legislative PEER committee reported that state agencies were purchasing cell phones at an unprecedented rate, costing taxpayers millions of dollars, and paying rates that are far in excess of what neighboring states pay. That is the kind of waste that internal auditors are trained to identify.

As I mentioned in the last letter, my bill to require public schools to fly the American flag at half staff when it is flown at half staff on public buildings passed unanimously in the House, but was killed in a Senate subcommittee. Recently Lieutenant Governor Tuck has announced her own proposal for a bill to promote patriotism and respect for the flag in public schools. I hope to Apiggy back@ my proposal on hers and win Senate approval.

I have been appointed as Chairman of an Education subcommittee to look at the way we fund textbooks and school supplies for our public schools.

I am serving on an education subcommittee to explore the issue of charter schools in Mississippi. We currently have what is generally considered the weakest charter school law in the nation. As a result, we have only one charter school in the state. I believe we need to explore every option to improve the quality of public education in Mississippi, including a reasonable, workable system of charter schools.

The Public Education Forum=s task force on teacher retention on which I served has completed its work, and the report will be issued in the next several months. Six months of intensive work and research by the task force members has produced a series of recommendations designed to attract, train and retain quality teachers for every public school in our state.

Finally a group of fellow House members and I are considering ways to reduce the dreadful drop out rate in our public schools. The numbers are staggering. You will get all kinds of statistics from official sources, but the proof is in the enrollment figures.

The State Department of Education publishes an annual report that includes the relevant numbers. All you have to do is look at enrollment for grades 7 through 12 to get the picture. For the 10 school years through May of 2000, the average 7th grade enrollment statewide was 44,832. During that same period, the average 12th grade enrollment was 27,356, an average decrease of 39%. And there was very little variation from year to year. For example, the 1995 seventh grade class of 46,667 students had dwindled to 28,031 twelfth graders by the year 2000.

Even more striking, enrollment actually goes up in the 9th grade, by more than 10%, and down in the 10th grade, by more than 20%. It=s clear that many kids are being held back in the 9th grade, and, as soon as they are able, they drop out. Our compulsory attendance laws only make kids stay in school until they are 17. It does not make them learn, and it certainly does not make them graduate.

In fact, we have more kids dropping out of high school each year than we have enrolling in our four-year colleges, by better than two to one.

So what=s the solution? In my opinion, while there are challenges throughout our curriculum, we have reasonable approaches and opportunities for kids who are high achievers and for kids in special education. The kids that are Aleft out@ are the great preponderance of the kids who are in the middle academically, particularly those at the lower end of the middle range.

We=ve got to figure out a way to say to average students, those in the middle, that they are valuable human beings who can be successful adults with good jobs and an opportunity for a happy life - without going to college. While college should always be an option for every kid, we have to be realistic about what is actually happening. The vast majority of our kids don=t go to college, and yet our schools focus on the Acollege track@ for all kids. It just doesn=t make sense.

The truth is that no matter what we do, statistically nearly one-half of all kids are academically below average. No one talks about that. We all want to continue to say that AAll kids can learn.@ But what we don=t say is that not all kids can learn the same amount or at the same speed. But we put them all in the same box and try to force them to do just that. And when the inevitable happens and some kids can=t keep up, the message we send them is that they do not matter. That is wrong.

Kids aren=t stupid. They make choices just as adults do. We cram these kids into college-track classes they can=t possibly pass, and, when they fail, we make them take those same classes again and again. Inevitably, as the numbers show, when they reach age 17 and are legally able to drop out, many of them do.

We need an alternative for these kids. We are not talking about dumbing down the curriculum. We are not talking about warehousing kids. We are talking about being realistic and offering kids choices. We are talking about a way to offer them self-respect. We are talking about giving them hope for a decent future with a good job and an opportunity to succeed. We are talking about finding a way to keep them in school.

There are programs in other parts of the country that work. There is simply no reason that we don=t adopt those programs here. It is a matter of changing our focus and putting the same emphasis on average kids that we put on those who are above or below average.

For example, the Jackson Public Schools are piloting the High Schools That Work program developed by the Southern Regional Education Board. And we were successful last year in passing legislation to promote the Junior ROTC program in our high schools. Both of these programs are designed to offer alternatives to kids, and both have been successful in helping keep kids in school. These and similar programs should be available in every school district in the state.

There will always be some kids who fail. We can=t save them all. But I firmly believe that we can save a lot more of them than we do. If we don=t try, we are letting our children and ourselves down.

In other activities, I continue to serve as House liaison to the Department of Information Technology Services, a member of the Southern Growth Policies Board, a member of the Statewide Telecommunications Advisory Committee, a member of the Secretary of State=s Business Law Advisory Group and the Speaker=s designee on the Governor's Commission on Electronic Government.

On a personal note, this summer the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants honored me as the winner of their annual Public Service Award. There are more than 2,000 CPAs in Mississippi, and my being a CPA gave the award special meaning.

This November will mark two years since I was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives. It has been a busy and enjoyable two years. I have been fortunate enough to work on a number of important legislative issues; my "day job" (Medley & Brown, Financial Advisors) has been going well; and my family (wife Nancy, four children and six grandchildren) are all healthy and lead active lives.

Being a member of the Legislature can be frustrating at times. I am often impatient with the process and wish we could make our government more efficient, our schools more effective and our streets and neighborhoods safer overnight. But that is simply not possible. Be that as it may, there is not a day that goes by that I am not thankful for the opportunity to serve the people of our district, and I will continue to work as hard as I can toward making this a better place to live for all of us.

It is an honor to represent the people of District 66. If you ever need me or if I can do anything to help you in any way, please do not hesitate to call. My telephone number and mailing and email addresses are shown above.

Finally, best wishes for a happy and holy holiday season to you and all of your loved ones. I look forward to continuing to serve you to the best of my ability in the coming year.

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2002 Newsletter