Often state lawmakers work in Jackson and their constituents back home rarely see the impact of their work.

It’s easy to miss how statewide events impact us in Southwest Mississippi.

But the state’s budget woes are beginning to be felt here in Adams County.

The latest body blow came in the form of a more than $600,000 reduction in state funding coming to the Natchez-Adams School District.

That figure is approximately 1.5 percent of the total annual budget. But since the cut is coming late in the school district’s fiscal year, the impact will be much greater.

The public schools are easy targets for critics in recent years as their effectiveness is not to the levels they should be.

However, regardless of how you feel about the school district, a reduction in the district’s funding is not good news for the district, our community’s students or the community’s economy.

The reduction in funding should serve as a wake-up call that all begin paying more attention to what’s going on in Jackson as this year’s Legislature continues.

We urge our local legislators to work hard to eliminate non-essential government spending and keep education among the top priorities.