To say DeSoto County Schools Superintendent Milton Kuykendall is against the proposed Charter School Bill in Mississippi might be the understatement of the year.

Off the top, Superintendent Kuykendall says if the Charter Schools Bill passes and you live in Mississippi, look for your taxes to go up.

"It will raise taxes," he said. "Charter schools, there is no way to put in a massive school system statewide and for anybody to think it is not going to raise taxes. I am opposed to doing anything that will raise taxes and the taxes it will raise will be local taxes."

It's not going to be good for DeSoto County Schools and it is not the answer for the rest of the state either, Superintendent Kuykendall added. He says there is no research that proves charter schools have been overwhelmingly successful in states like Tennessee and Florida.

"I do not think it is in the best interest of the children and I do not think that it is in the best interest of DeSoto County," he added.

Superintendent Kuykendall was quick to praise DeSoto County legislators in Jackson fighting to stop the Charter Schools Bill that was introduced in the past week.

Superintendent Kuykendall says private companies run charter schools and they are in it for the money, not the children.

"The for-profit charter schools, you know, it's about the money," he said. "When you follow the money, you follow the decisions. I always have a problem when you spend public money on for-profit organizations. If it's for-profit, someone is out to make a lot of money."

If the Charter Schools Bill passes through the Mississippi Legislature in Jackson, DeSoto County residents will wind up footing the bill to educate students who don't even live in DeSoto County, Kuykendall said.

"I am one of those people who believes the children who attend DeSoto County Schools," he said. "Their parents should be residents of our county. They should be taxpayers. I don't believe our taxpayers want to build schools for children who live in other counties and states to come to our schools. I don't believe they want to do that."