In the six months the city’s ad hoc recreation committee examined the city’s recreation facilities, its members and residents attending its meetings emphasized a multipurpose recreation complex as a key element to the quality of life for Vicksburg.
But when quality of life issues came to a vote at the city’s Oct. 22 planning forum, the majority chose education as the most important quality of life element.
Given five quality of life choices: health care, public safety, parks and recreation, education and work choices, 43 percent, a majority of participants, listed education as the quality of life element most important to them. Second was health care with 21 percent. Parks and recreation was last with 6 percent.
The poll result brought an “I’m not surprised” comment from Mayor George Flaggs Jr.
“Before running for this office, I talked to 500 people and education was the main topic,” he said after the meeting. “Education is the foundation for economic development.”
South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson said he also was not surprised by the results.
“Education is a major economic development issue,” he said. “When people with families look to come here, one of the first things they want to know is about the education system. Businesses and industries looking to come here want to know how educated our work force is.”
“That’s not surprising in any shape form or fashion,” North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said. “Any community you’re in, and anyone who’s here or intending on moving to this community is always going to be looking at your educational level — how your schools are doing — so it stands to reason that people would put education at the top.”
While a sports complex will play a role in quality of life discussions, he said, most people would place education at the top of any list of quality of life issues, and “they would say that they want their community to be at the highest educational level it can possibly be.”
“That’s the lifeblood of your community — that we would have a well-trained and well-educated (work) force,” he said. “That’s what business and industry looks at when they’re looking to come in your community. They want to look at your system, even your nearest system where they have colleges. I think with us having a Hinds campus here in Warren County is an even bigger plug for us, that we have education even up to the college level.”
On other education issues addressed in the forum, a majority of the group opposed consolidating the school district’s two high schools, and indicated a lack of parental involvement as the greatest obstacle to education in the city. Also, they wanted to see improvements in teachers and school administration. Most put science and technology as the career paths for students that would most impact the community, but put vocational and trade skills as the programs needed to prepare students for jobs in the Vicksburg area.