Rep. John Moore Marches Backward

Just when you thought the list of bad ideas conceived by the Republicans could not get any more ridiculous, leave it to Rep. John Moore (R-Brandon) to steal the show.

A bill introduced by Moore would reduce the number of days students are required to attend school from 180 to 175. Moore's rationale is that since teachers do not do much teaching the last week of school or before the holidays, it will not make much of a difference.

First, I do not think anyone can concede that Mississippi students spend too much time in classrooms.

Second, according to Moore's unnamed sources, teachers spend the last month of school essentially goofing off. To reward such behavior, Moore introduces legislation to take the burden off of the teachers who are "babysitting" students by giving them five days off of the job. With teacher pay raises in the news in recent weeks, it is intriguing to consider if there anything in Moore's "statistical data" that shows a connection between wages and performance. If Moore considers low wages and low performance to be linked, his prophecy is self-fulfilling.

Third, Moore's school day numbers are going in the wrong direction. His goal should be to maximize school days and classroom time to allow for more intensive instruction and to introduce new lessons to the students. Under Moore's model, if the school year was 200 days, 195 would be utilized. That would mean 195 days a student will be in a classroom learning skills to compete in a global economy.

Maybe Moore is trying to save school districts money. Maybe he is trying to help our underpaid teachers start their lavish summer vacations early. Maybe he is trying to rescue our students from Common Core. Maybe Moore should count to 180 before introducing such a knee-jerk approach to our state's public education system.

***BREAKING - Reason for delay in redistricting process revealed*** (SATIRE)

(***The following is satire.***)

Conversations with redistricting experts aiding the Legislature in their efforts to draw new maps have uncovered the reason behind the extensive delay in completing the process: Rep. Bill Denny (R - Jackson), chairman of the House Reapportionment Committee, drew the House maps thinking the 3/5ths Compromise was still in place. Understandably, this caused major alarm when his House map was finally submitted for expert approval.  The practice of placing a large number of minority voters into a small number of districts is known as "packing."  Denny defended himself by saying, "It ain't packing if they're not equal to us."

Sources inside the Capitol say that Denny had relied heavily on Rep. John Moore (R - Brandon) for advice concerning the legality of the proposed lines as he was drafting them. Reached for comment, Moore defended his advice to Denny concerning the 3/5ths Compromise by saying he'd learned that from his friend Richard Barrett.

(Seriously, Rep. Bill Denny doesn't think the 3/5ths Compromise is still in place.  He knows full well it isn't, as he lost several grandsons in the Civil War.  The stuff about Richard Barrett, though, is not satire.  He was an avowed white supremacist.  Also, Barrett didn't leave half of his estate to Rep. Moore because he and Moore didn't get along.)

Photo of State Capitol Police investigating possible assault of Rep. Reecy Dickson

The above photo purportedly shows State Capitol Police investigating reports that Rep. Reecy Dickson (D - Macon) was assaulted after the charter schools vote in the House Education Committee.  The charter schools bill died by one vote, with Rep. Dickson voting against the measure.

CHARTER SCHOOLS BILL DIES IN HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Here are the votes:


No

Bain
Burnett
Calhoun
Clark
Dickson
J Evans
Gardner
Hamilton
Holloway
Jennings
Massengill
Nelson
Straughter
Thomas
Weathersby
Whittington

Aye

Arnold
Barker
Boyd
Chism
Crawford
Currie
DeBar
Espy
Frierson
Guice
Martinson
Mayo
McGee
Moore
Warren

All eyes on the House this afternoon

The House is set to take up the Motion to Reconsider SB 2576, the Workers Compensation Destruction Bill, when it returns to session this afternoon at 4 p.m.  In addition, the House also has the following items to deal with in short order:

I found out what Education Chairman John Moore (R - Brandon) said so on state-funded SuperTalk radio yesterday morning. WOW.

Yesterday morning, I asked what I'd missed by not catching Rep. John Moore's interview on the Gallo Show.  Sure, Rep. Moore (R - Brandon) spent time asking listeners to the Gallo Show to work to unseat people who vote against Moore's beloved charter schools bill.  There's nothing odd or wrong about that.  It's what he said at the end of the interview with Paul Gallo that should curl your hair.

Interesting read at the Washington Post about the House Education Committee meetings over the Mississippi charter schools bill

Mike Sayer of Southern Echo provides an in-depth account of the scene at the House Education Committee over the last two days.  The charter schools bill is stuck in the committee, and the vote keeps getting pushed back as supporters of the bill struggle to flip "no" votes.  The battle will resume next week, and Sayer's article builds the back story very well.  It's a fascinating read, and you can find it here.

***Developing throughout the afternoon - Votes still not there on charter schools

This was the scene moments ago when the House Education Committee began its meeting today to take up the charter schools bill, SB 2401.  Rep. John Moore (R - Brandon), the chairman of the committee, decided that the vote would be put off until another meeting of the committee later this afternoon.  That is a big signal that there still are not enough votes to pass the charter schools bill out of the committee, and that Rep. Steve Massengill (R - Hickory Flat) is standing his ground.

Meet Your Chairmen, Part 3 - Rep. John Moore (because sometimes one introduction just isn't enough)

As we wait for Rep. Moore to resume his assault on public education in Mississippi at today's House Education Committee meeting, here are more fun facts from Rep. Moore's past for your reading pleasure.

Back in its Fall 2004 Intelligence Report, the Southern Poverty Law Center mentioned Rep. Moore's name among other notable Mississippi Republicans who enjoyed a close relationship with the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist organization formerly headed by Richard Barrett.

Apparently, Barrett and Moore's relationship was a very close one as Moore was named a beneficiary in Barrett's will (alongside the Government of Iran).  To read more about Barrett and the Council of Conservative Citizens, check here and here.  

Assuming Rep. Moore is successful in his efforts to dismantle Mississippi's K-12 program, it'll be interesting to see what he and the CCC come up with as a replacement.

Rep. John Moore (R - Brandon), Chairman of the House Education Committee, on state-funded SuperTalk radio this morning...

I don't listen to the hate circus that is SuperTalk radio outside of the Ramsey family shows, so I missed Rep. John Moore (R - Brandon) on the Gallo Show.  But as I understand it, he said some pretty inflammatory things regarding the charter schools bill that is stalled in his own majority-Republican committee.  Did anyone listen in?  (Not that I expect anyone who listens to that echo chamber to share vignettes of John Moore sticking his foot in his mouth with the readers of this blog, but it's worth a shot.)

***BREAKING*** - Intrigue builds as House Education Committee may not pass Senate charter school bill

Representatives were called into Republican Speaker Philip Gunn's office today prior to the House Education Committee meeting, at which the Senate charter schools bill was to be presented.  The intention of the meeting was to press Education Committee members into voting for the bill.  The effort may not have worked, however, as Chairman John Moore (R - Brandon) announced during the committee meeting that there had been a late development. The bill was laid on the table subject to call, and the committee adjourned until tomorrow morning.  There's much more, though.

Rep. John Moore (R - Brandon) says his school choice bill will cost "so little you won't notice"

As I pointed out the other day, Rep. John Moore (R - Brandon) has introduced legislation that would allow parents of private school children to deduct tuition from their income for state tax purposes.  In effect, this would allow school choice for those wealthy enough to foot the private school tuition bill up front.

HB 1536 would establish school choice through tax breaks

At a time when the Republican budget relies heavily on cutting education funding, House Education Chairman Rep. John Moore (R - Brandon) has a plan to sneak school choice into Mississippi law via an income tax deduction.  The author of HB 1536 seeks to allow a $5,000 a year deduction (per child) for private school tuition.  Now that won't cover even half of the tuition at the more expensive private schools around Jackson.  But it will cover tuition at rural schools like Manchester Academy in Yazoo City or Washington School in Greenville.  And it will cover nearly all of the tuition at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis or Sacred Heart in Hattiesburg.

So what is the net result?  Middle income and wealthy parents will get tax credits for sending their children to private schools, while poor parents won't be in a position to spend the $5,000 in tuition up front and get a rebate.  Average daily attendance at public schools would wane, leaving them with less money to educate poor children.

House Education Chairman John Moore on why he doesn't want to teach kids about civil rights

As posted before, House Education Chairman John Moore (R-Brandon) has proposed legislation to discourage teaching Mississippi's children about civil rights.  Well, when asked why he would be opposed to, ya know, TEACHING ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS IN MISSISSIPPI, he responded thusly:

“I just want to make sure it’s teaching the truth and facts and not being accusatory of one group of people or the other. I don’t want it to be somebody’s philosophical idea of what civil rights are."

That's the new House Education Chairman, folks.  Thanks, Speaker Gunn.

***UPDATE*** - Mississippi House Education Chairman not a college graduate

***The Meet Your Chairmen series has been interrupted for this important note on yesterday's subject, Rep. John Moore.***

Former House Education Chairman Cecil Brown (D-Jackson), served on the Education Committee for two terms before becoming its chairman. Rep. Brown is a certified public accountant who is generally considered an expert on budgetary issues such as education, with a resume that includes being the Executive Director of the Department of Finance & Administration and a Governor’s Chief of Staff. Brown received a bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss in mathematics and English, and a master’s degree with special distinction at the University of Texas.  After last Friday, Rep. Brown is no longer a member the Education Committee, let alone its chairman.  Republicans rejoiced at this.

Rep. John Moore (R-Brandon), by contrast, never served on the Education Committee before becoming its chair. As outlined yesterday, that doesn't mean he didn't have his own inventive solutions for how to move Mississippi off of the bottom educationally. From reducing the number of days spent in the classroom to preventing teachers from teaching about the Civil Rights Movement, Rep. Moore has been a font of ideas.

One thing Rep. Moore has not been, however, is overly dedicated to his own education. According to the National Student Clearinghouse, Mississippi House Education Chairman John Moore doesn't have a college degree:

Surely, the Paul Gallo interview is just days away now, in which Moore will explain his lack of a college diploma by citing some personal hardship or tragedy that befell him in the mid 1970s.  And that's all fine and good.  One does not need a college diploma to make it in life. A personal commitment to one's own education should be a requirement to head the House Education Committee, however.

So the takeaway is this: new Speaker Philip Gunn just appointed a man with no college degree to head our Education Committee.  This is in stark contrast with the previous chairman, who earned a college degree with a double major and a masters degree with honors.  I'm sure the national media will have a field day with this one.

Arkansans, on behalf of Speaker Gunn, you're welcome.

***BONUS*** - In an unrelated matter, I couldn't help but note that Rep. Moore also offered a bill that would prohibit municipalities from collecting taxes from tobacco sales if they restricted tobacco use inside the city limits.  Yes, you read that right.  If Rep. Moore had his way, towns that prohibit smoking in restaurants would be denied the ability to collect sales tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Just for kicks, Profiles in Redistricting Courage #4

Rep. John Moore (R-Brandon)

Yesterday on the floor of the House, Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D-Charleston) spoke again about the process he went through as chairman of the House Apportionment and Elections Committee in drawing the House redistricting plan. During that speech, he referenced taking the time to come in on a snow day and sit down with 4 Republican House members to help them draw their districts. He even related that one of them drew their district in crayon. What he wouldn't say, however, is who the 4 Republican legislators were.

This morning, Rep. John Moore (R-Brandon) went on state-funded SuperTalk radio and attacked Rep. Reynolds relentlessly over redistricting and his floor speech. Well, guess what? Rep. John Moore was one of the 4 Republican legislators Rep. Reynolds met with on that fateful snow day. In fact, Rep. John Moore spent that snow day with Rep. Reynolds splitting up Brandon.  Not sure if he was the one who used the crayon, but I bet we can find out.

Can you imagine the fun we're going to have once discovery begins in the federal court?

Republican Representative John Moore tries to rip the rearview mirror off

Rep. John Moore (R-Brandon), has once again filed a bill to repeal the Civil Rights Education Commission, as he has every year since 2008.  It is unclear why Rep. Moore is intent on keeping Mississippians from learning about this important chapter in Mississippi history.