If there is one thing I understand, it’s deadline pressure.
We experience this every week. Somehow, I know I have a full week until the next deadline, but somehow, it always doesn’t get completely done until the last minute.
I’ll admit it, I’m a procrastination addict. I know I’m not the only one. Sometimes, I am able to do well at the last minute. Other times, I feel like a rushed through it to get it done and wished I had spent more time on it.
So that’s maybe why I can understand what happened this year in the state legislature. When it comes to education and pay raises, it felt like everyone was trying to wait until the last minute to try and make a deal.
There were some pushing it from the get-go, but it seemed like many of the state leaders were dragging their feet, i.e. procrastinating, either hoping the issue would resolve itself or perhaps go away. That’s another trait that I certainly understand. Sometimes, my procrastination is just hoping the issue resolves itself.
Sometimes, that can be a good thing to let things play out and see what happens. However, the teacher issue wasn’t an issue that would work itself out. The pay raise has been an issue from well before the session began. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves was quoted that there would be a teacher raise “if” they could find the money.
What we wound up getting in the end was a pay raise without funding for it. So, the unfunded mandate will get pushed down to the local level once again. To be honest, counties like Newton really don’t have much more room increase its taxes to pay for these unfunded mandates. There won’t be a special session to fix the problem this year.
There is a chance that it could get fixed in the next session, but the problem is that will be after an election, and there’s a good chance there won’t be much urgency to try and fix it.
This feels like one of those last-minute issues caused by not really making sure the language was correct, and then legislators were so stressed by trying to make the deadline that they didn’t even read the bill to see what was in it.
Several folks were left with egg on their face because they passed the bill without reading it.
My worry is that there may be more procrastinating to fix the issue once and for all.
Brent can be reached at bmaze@newtoncountyappeal.com.
