Robert Taylor
In a rare case of a nomination failing on the chamber floor, the nominee for Mississippi Superintendent of Education, who was named by the state’s education board late last year, was not confirmed by the Mississippi Senate on Wednesday in a 21-31 vote.
Yahoo news reports that Robert Taylor, a native Mississippian who last served as deputy state superintendent for North Carolina and began work in January, will no longer be the chief administrator of the state’s education system, with those voting no voicing concerns about his selection process and record on underperforming schools.
“This whole confirmation was a political process, and I knew that coming in,” Taylor told The Associated Press on Wednesday evening after the Senate vote.
He said senators in the past have confirmed all previous nominees for state superintendent, and he is disappointed this group of senators did not confirm him.
“The fact that they didn’t, that is what I have to live with,” Taylor said. “I will always respect the process.”
In a news conference after the vote, Senate Democrats suggested a different reason Taylor was voted down. Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, is a former longtime schoolteacher who said Taylor’s qualifications were more than adequate.
“The person that we’re talking about, Dr. Taylor, is a native son,” Jordan said. “He’s a Mississippian, who went to North Carolina and worked in their system, that system rated is higher than Mississippi, and he came home to serve. He’s a great and impressive son of Mississippi, and we rejected him for no reason other than the fact that God made him Black.”
The Mississippi State Board of Education selected Robert Taylor to serve as Mississippi’s new state superintendent of education, but he was voted down by the state Senate on Wednesday.
Taylor’s nomination ultimately failed. Some who voted no said the legislature had not been adequately involved in the selection process.
Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, said that played a role in his opposition, but added that there were other factors too. Mississippi, Sparks said, needs a superintendent with a strong record of turning around underperforming schools. Taylor’s answers on that topic in the confirmation hearings left Sparks unconvinced, according to the senator. Sparks also looked to Taylor’s record on that subject in North Carolina.
“There were not things that were said that gave me encouragement about the underperforming schools in our state,” Sparks said.
“The data that I have before me says that while someone may be constitutionally qualified, they may not be the right person for the job.”
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann released a statement after the vote, saying he agreed with the no-vote.
“The Board sent over an appointment but there were legitimate concerns about whether he was the right person for the job. With a position as important as the person overseeing the education of our children, Senators should vote their conscience and confirmation should not be taken lightly. I defer to the body and believe they made the right decision today,” Hosemann said.
During floor debate Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, urged his colleagues to support the nominee, and said the process that led to Taylor’s selection was far from abnormal.
“I’m aware that among some senators there is opposition to this nomination. I don’t know of any reason that has been articulated that is compelling that we should reject this nominee. The state constitution vests in the state school board the authority to operate or choose the state superintendent,” Bryan said.
In the news conference, Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, said rejecting Taylor so late in the session sets the state’s education system back until the Senate can have a chance to vote on the next nominee.
“Those who voted against the nomination of Dr. Taylor did the state of Mississippi a great disservice,” Horhn said.
“They have set our education efforts and progress that we’ve made with regard to education back at least a year because we are rudderless right now. We’ve got to start all over again and find leadership for our state department of public education. Anytime we put politics and partisanship and race ahead of the progress that we need to be making in the state of Mississippi we’re doing our citizens a great disservice, and we did that today.
