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Committee reaffirms Jacobs to State Board of Education; he highlights audit work and a statewide reading project
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Summary
The Senate Committee on Nominations advised and consented to the renomination of Mr. Jacobs to the State Board of Education. Jacobs described serving on audit subcommittee, hiring auditors, and work on a reading initiative assigned by the lieutenant governor.
The Senate Committee on Nominations advised and consented to the renomination of Mr. Jacobs to the State Board of Education. Committee members heard a brief update from Jacobs about his time on the board and recent duties, and the panel approved his renomination by voice vote.
Jacobs told the committee he has spent roughly three to three-and-a-half years learning the functions of the Mississippi Department of Education and has participated in hiring two superintendents and served through three interim superintendents. He said he now chairs the internal audit subcommittee and that the subcommittee has hired a new auditor and expects another auditor to begin in the coming weeks. "We're gonna make some adjustments there," Jacobs said, describing efforts to improve financial oversight.
Jacobs also said that the lieutenant governor asked him to study reading and recommend fixes and funding, a task Jacobs said he initially considered "over my pay grade" but has since pursued, meeting with educators and stakeholders and discussing ideas with Jim Barksdale. "I've been spending a lot of time learning about education, reading, and what we're going," he told the committee.
Why it matters: The State Board of Education provides oversight of the Mississippi Department of Education, including financial management and policy direction on student achievement initiatives such as reading. Jacobs' role on the audit subcommittee and on a reading-focused assignment from the lieutenant governor positions him to shape oversight and recommendations related to those priorities.
Committee action: Senator Blunt moved to advise and consent to Mr. Jacobs' renomination; the committee approved the motion by voice vote. The chair said he would report the nomination to the full Senate.
The committee asked if members had questions; Senator Polk and Senator McLendon asked the nominee about his prior business ownership and dual high-school diplomas, which Jacobs explained as graduating from Brookhaven High School in 1973 and subsequently attending a prep school, Woodward Academy, in Atlanta. Jacobs also stated he sold his newspaper companies in 2012 and now lives in Tupelo and serves as pastor of Life at Tupelo.
The committee's voice vote was recorded as "the ayes have it" in the transcript; no roll-call tally appears in the record.
