42 For Better Schools Create Video to Explain Initiative 42

The 42 For Better Schools Campaign released a new video today that walks voters through the proposed constitutional amendment and its importance to public schools in Mississippi.

The video explains Initiative 42 step-by-step and explains why full legislative support is needed to provide resources to educate the nearly 500,000 children who attend some 150 school districts.

Using the voices of two school-age children, the 2:27-minute video features statements from a school superintendent and two parents about the citizen-led initiative slated for the Nov. 3 ballot.

Sissy Lynn of Ridgeland, Mississippi’s 2015 Parent of the Year and a volunteer with the 42 for Better Schools Campaign said, “The video presents Initiative 42 in an easy-to-understand format so that voters will know why it’s so important to our children and our state’s economic future. The video answers questions and addresses possible confusion as voters educate themselves about the ballot measure.”

Since 2008, the Legislature has short-changed these schools nearly $1.7 billion, which has put financial pressure on cities and counties to bridge the gaps. Initiative 42 will appear on the ballot because nearly 200,000 Mississippians signed petitions in 2014 to vote on school funding.

Adrian Shipman, the plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Legislature’s alternative to the Initiative 42 ballot measure, said in a column: “Initiative 42 is an investment in the future of our children. Initiative 42 is an investment in our state. And, most important, Initiative 42 is a message to our children that success lies in accountability. Now we must send that message to our Legislature.”

Article courtesy of 42 For Better Schools, with additional reporting contributed by Callie Daniels Bryant