Education Is Economic Development: Why Business Leaders Should Support House Bill

That is why House Bill 2, the Education Freedom Act, recently passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives, deserves the strong and vocal support of employers across our state.

I was reminded of this reality recently in Bay Springs, Mississippi, where I sat down with Jamie Holder, President of Hol-Mac Corporation. Hol-Mac is a manufacturing success story, employing more than 900 people across its operations, many of them in rural Jasper County. The company builds complex steel fabrications and industrial components for customers around the world. It is exactly the kind of employer Mississippi needs more of.

And yet, like so many business leaders across the state, Jamie described a challenge that has nothing to do with wages, taxes, or infrastructure. The number one barrier to recruiting talent in Bay Springs is not the job. It is the school system.

Hol-Mac can recruit experienced workers. It can recruit professionals. But when those professionals are younger—when they are starting families or thinking about where to raise children—the first question they ask is not about the factory floor or the community amenities. It is simple and direct: “Tell me about the schools.”

That question is playing out in many communities across Mississippi, particularly in rural areas. When families feel that their educational options are limited by a ZIP code, they make rational decisions. If they have the means, they send their children to private schools or they seek a district with better options, which might cause them to look for work elsewhere. If they cannot afford one of those options, they are stuck in a school that is not best for their children. Over time, that dynamic hollows out towns, weakens tax bases, and makes it even harder for schools and employers to succeed.

I saw this dynamic firsthand growing up in Laurel. In the 1980s and 1990s, the city schools were widely viewed as weak, and families assigned to the district responded predictably. Those with means moved to the county, which was a different school district, paid private school tuition, or chose homeschooling. Over time, that pattern pulled middle-class families out of the city or kept them from putting down roots. Similar dynamics played out in communities like Jackson, Meridian, Columbus, and many others.

House Bill 2 confronts that problem directly.

At its core, the bill recognizes something business leaders already understand: one size does not fit all. Students have different needs, talents, and learning styles. Families have different priorities. Communities have different challenges. A rigid system that ties educational opportunity solely to residential boundaries does not align with how people live, work, or compete in a modern economy.

House Bill 2 expands public charter school access, makes public-to-public school transfers easier for families, and perhaps most consequentially, creates Magnolia Student Accounts, which allow eligible families to use a portion of state education dollars for approved education expenses, like private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, testing, transportation, and more. These options would benefit communities across the state by removing an underperforming local school as a barrier to growth. Families and employers alike would gain flexibility, allowing talented workers to live in the communities they choose while still having meaningful options for where their children are educated.

Critics often warn that school choice will weaken public schools. But that argument ignores both real-world experience and basic economic logic. Competition does not destroy strong institutions; it strengthens them. In manufacturing, companies either improve or fall behind. In education, the same principle applies. When families have real choices, schools are incentivized to adapt, innovate, and respond to student needs.

Importantly, evidence from other states shows that school choice does not harm the students who remain in traditional public schools. In fact, the overwhelming majority of empirical studies find that public schools often improve when choice is introduced. Outcomes rise not because students are sorted, but because systems become more accountable.

From a business perspective, the implications are clear.

When families can live where they work rather than moving solely for school access, communities stabilize. Housing markets strengthen. Tax bases grow. Employers retain workers longer. Young professionals put down roots. Rural towns remain viable places to invest and expand.

As Jamie put it plainly, if school choice removes education as a barrier to relocation, it becomes far easier for employers to recruit talent, and far more likely that those families stay. Even if a child attends school outside the immediate district, this flexibility allows families to choose a community for its shared identity, churches, and local ties that make a town feel like home, rather than being forced to base their decision solely on “Tell me about the schools.”

House Bill 2 is not a silver bullet, but it is meaningful. For Mississippi’s business community, the choice should be straightforward.

We need more and better-prepared workers. We need stronger labor force participation. We need policies that help people build their lives here rather than elsewhere. Supporting House Bill 2 is not about ideology. It is about outcomes.

When families win, students win. And when students win, Mississippi’s economy wins too.