Schools told to remove pro-Initiative 42 language from websites

Superintendents are being asked to remove any information that could be interpreted as supporting or opposing either of the education funding initiatives on the November ballot from their school district websites.

Lawmakers and the auditor's office notified the Mississippi Department of Education that some school district websites have "statements encouraging support for Initiative 42," according to an email from Chief Operations Officer Todd Ivey to superintendents.

Ivey emailed superintendents on Tuesday pointing to an Attorney General opinion stating school employees can participate in political activities as long as the participation doesn't interfere with work-related duties.

"We recommend that if your web site contains language that could be construed as advocating for or against either Initiative 42 or 42A that you remove the language," the email stated.

MDE would not comment further on the email.

The July 31 opinion from the Attorney General cites law that states "it shall be unlawful for any employer, or employee having the authority to employ or discharge other employees, to make any statement public or private, or to give out or circulate any report or statement, calculated to intimidate or coerce or otherwise influence any employee as to his vote …"

Attorney General Jim Hood said he encourages districts to provide information about Initiative 42, calling it a "critical ballot initiative regarding fully funding our schools."

However, he said in an emailed statement, "it is important that the administrators are in compliance with state law. If they have any questions about the content of their message they should consult with their legal counsel or contact our office for guidance."

Lauderdale Co. School District Superintendent Randy Hodges said he changed the wording on his district's website this week after receiving the email.

"I have a commitment to make every effort I possibly can in my position as superintendent to support our students so that 42 will hopefully pass," Hodges said. "It's very important to me and my district that we do it right, so I did get the email from the state department and made some adjustments."

There is still a link to the website of 42 for Better Schools, the campaign to pass the initiative, on the landing page of the district website.

Hodges said he was advised that was within the law to include it, and that the campaign's website has information about both initiatives.

Hodges said he now feels confident the language on the website is fair to both sides. The website features an explanation of how both Initiative 42 and its legislative alternative will appear on the ballot, then highlights differences between each initiative.

Late Wednesday afternoon, DeSoto County School District's website contained a page on its website called "Understanding Initiative 42," which said 42 "will require the Legislature to abide by the school funding law (MAEP) it passed 18 years ago … "

It continued to say, "We do more with less every year. More and more unfunded mandates are handed down and we continue to meet the challenge … The Legislature first tried to confuse voters with a competing initiative. That did not work. Now they are using scare tactics to get people against Initiative 42."

When reached by The Clarion-Ledger, DeSoto County School District spokeswoman Katherine Nelson said the page had since been taken down.

"DeSoto County School District will be compliant with the law. We are removing the language on our website until legal team further defines what we can or cannot say," Nelson said.

42 for Better Schools Communications Director Patsy Brumfield said school districts are "perfectly within their rights to publish information about Initiative 42 and 42A and let their website users make up their own mind."

Brumfield called the move an intimidation tactic by lawmakers opposed to the initiative.

Initiative 42 calls for a constitutional amendment to require the state to fund an "adequate and efficient" system of public schools and gives the chancery court the ability to enforce the requirement.

Initiative 42-A, the first-ever legislative alternative to a citizen sponsored initiative in the history of the state, would require the legislature to provide "an effective system" of free public schools, but does not mention any judicial oversight.

Contact Kate Royals at (601) 360-4619 or kroyals@gannett.com. Follow @KRRoyals on Twitter.