Dive Brief:
- In Mississippi, school superintendents can either be elected into the position or appointed, but both the state's governor and lieutenant governor want to change the law so that all are exclusively appointed.
- The State Association of Superintendents has opposed that idea, and the president of the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents says that a reason needs to be given for the change, since there is currently almost no difference in performance between superintendents that are voted in versus those who are appointed.
- Superintendents interviewed by local news outlet WLBT seem divided on the issue, with some saying appointments might take the politics out of the position and save time and money by foregoing election campaigns.
Dive Insight:
Right now, a reported 55 superintendents in the state are elected, as opposed to 89 appointed. The state, known for being one of the poorest in the nation, is one of three in the country, along with Florida and Alabama, that hold elections for the position.
An argument made by some, like Mississippi nonprofit Rethink Mississippi, cites the fact that school boards are typically responsible for hiring the best possible candidate for the job. By using popular elections, the nonprofit says, a candidate who is not the most qualified, but instead the most well-liked or wealthiest, has a shot of landing the position.
By their count, last year, there were a total of 154 elected superintendents in the entire U.S., and 69 of them were in Mississippi.
Alabama has faced similar questions surrounding its elected superintendents, and various bills have been proposed to its legislature in recent history.