• Mississippi state department heads are embracing artificial intelligence to improve government efficiency.
• AI is being used to digitize operations and standardize processes, such as prompting eligibility workers during interviews.
• Officials assured legislators that AI implementation is not intended to replace state employees.
• Department leaders also highlighted that restrictive state hiring processes make it difficult to recruit and retain qualified talent.

Mississippi State Health Officer Daniel Edney had a simple message for legislators when asked about government efficiency in his department.

“I’m thanking God today for AI, because it has brought a lot of solutions to a lot of the problems I’m facing,” he said.

Edney was one of six Mississippi department heads asked to speak with a House committee on government efficiency about the ways that they’re saving time and money in their jobs. Most of the others echoed Edney’s thoughts on artificial intelligence and other kinds of updated technology.

Bob Anderson, the executive director of the human services department, touted that his agency is “about 90% down the path of digitizing” all of its operations and few processes remain on paper. While the department’s systems are “ancient” now, he said, it has executed an agreement with a vendor and will pilot a new system later this year.

“We did this inventory recently and didn’t even realize that in-house, we had something on the order of 40 to 45 processes or tools within our agency that are already using AI,” he said.

The technology will be used next to prompt eligibility workers during interviews to ensure they ask all relevant questions, Anderson said, a much-needed standardizing tool.

“In the 60 or so counties where I’ve looked at their documentation,” he said, “there are about 60 different versions of what the script looked like when one of our eligibility workers sits down with an applicant.”

People concerned about artificial intelligence might wonder: If an AI tool asks all of the questions a human can, why would the department keep their employees around?

Edney promised legislators that they “won’t be laying off anybody at the health department because of AI.” Other department heads asked whether the goal of the committee and overall government efficiency movement was to have fewer state employees who, with the help of AI, could handle more work.

What else could happen next session: Mississippi lawmakers talk school consolidation, closures in state

Increased technology use doesn’t mean maximum savings, said committee chair Rep. Hank Zuber, R-Ocean Springs. Zuber questioned why each agency was using a different type of software and paying an individual licensing fee, suggesting that the state pursue an all-encompassing contract with a single fee.

Beyond a statewide provider contract, Mississippians could also see legislation next session targeting the hiring regulations instituted by the state personnel board.

Edney, Anderson and Child Protections Services Commissioner Andrea Sanders complained that the hurdles built into the hiring process make it difficult to hire and retain qualified employees in their state jobs.

“For us to perform in the way that y’all expect us to perform, we have to have a healthy, well-educated professional workforce at the highest caliber that you can afford to have, and right now, I just can’t do that,” Edney said. “I’m constantly fighting to recruit top-level talent to the health department … What I need is a system that helps me get to where y’all want us to go.”

Anderson agreed with Edney’s comments, asking the Legislature to divorce his department from the strict restrictions of the personnel board.

“We need some flexibility, and what is frustrating at times is that we’ve built our personnel system around this notion that one size fits all,” he said. “One size fits none is really a more appropriate description.”

The slow hiring process combined with lower salaries, Sanders said, means that her department loses out on top candidates who are drawn toward the big paychecks and smooth onboarding that private business can offer them.

It is unlikely that the state will be able to afford much higher pay for its employees given its tight budget now. Margins will likely only become narrower, lawmakers said during the budget negotiation process this session, as the state’s income tax decreases.

Representatives heard suggestions from the department heads for hours on Wednesday afternoon, but it is unclear what they will take from the discussion and turn into bills next year.

Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered Mississippi politics since the start of 2026. Email her at banhuci@usatodayco.com.

• Mississippi legislators are discussing the consolidation of K-12 schools and districts to address declining student enrollment.
• Officials propose two main options: combining entire school districts or consolidating multiple schools into a single building.
• Closing individual schools is presented as the most effective way to achieve significant, recurring financial savings for districts.
• Consolidation is a contentious issue, with some fearing it will harm communities, while others see it as a way to improve resources for students.

Legislators unpacked the details of one of the most contentious words to echo around the Capitol in the past few years: consolidation.

Mississippi representatives met on Thursday, June 4, to discuss, specifically, the consolidation of K-12 schools and districts throughout the state.

Committee Chair Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, warned that districts with fewer than 1,000 students were likely the first on the list. Mike Kent, an interim deputy superintendent with the department of education, suggested that the state could see a return to one-room schoolhouses in some areas.

Mississippi Department of Education Superintendent Lance Evans laid out two options that the Legislature and school districts could consider: consolidation of school districts and within them. The state has generally preferred to combine school districts in the past, eliminating extra administrative roles while retaining all of the schools, staff and operational costs associated with each district.

This option can be easier and more favorable among community members, Evans said, but the real savings come with the consolidation of two or more schools into a single building. Kent, who served as the Madison County superintendent for nearly a decade, echoed Evans’ endorsement of a school consolidation approach.

In his time in Madison County, Kent told the committee that he closed East Flora Middle School and “immediately saved $1.3 million.” The district didn’t need to pay the operational costs associated with the school, he said, and those savings are recurring.

Districts could also stand to make money after consolidation, he added, by selling those properties. Those property sales aren’t guaranteed, though, as evidenced by the 14 Jackson Public Schools buildings that remain unsold as of June 2026. The district has sold only two of its closed schools, according to its website, with a third under contract.

Legislators have had consolidation discussions for years at the Capitol, sounding alarms among those who fear the dissolution of their community without a school as an anchor point.

“Consolidation has been such a dirty word for most people. They think we’re trying to tear their community down,” Roberson said. “And the truth is, if the school is what’s holding it together right now, more than likely you’ve got bigger problems. We don’t need to let the children in these areas be harmed by the fact that the adults can’t figure out how to get this together.”

Ferris, West to discuss Mississippi folk artists at UM Museum

Published 6:30 am Thursday, June 4, 2026

The University of Mississippi Museum will host “A Conversation with Bill Ferris & Milly West” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on June 17.

A reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the talk at 6 p.m.

The program will feature Bill Ferris, founding director of the Center for Southern Studies, author, scholar and folklorist, in conversation with photographer and former Southside Gallery owner Milly West, discussing “Mississippi Self-taught and Folk Artists in the Museum Collections.”

The discussion will explore the creativity, ingenuity and cultural storytelling of self-taught and folk artists represented in the museum’s collection. Ferris and West both had personal relationships with many of the artists and will share stories and insights into their artistic inspirations and processes.

Through paintings, sculpture, textiles, carvings and mixed-media works, the pair will examine how artists working outside traditional academic training have shaped the art and visual culture of the American South.

Among the artists discussed will be Luster Willis, whose work is currently featured in an exhibition at the museum. Most of the pieces on display were gifted to the museum by Ferris. Other artists highlighted during the conversation will include Sulton Rogers and Theora Hamblett.