JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A bill that would give teachers a $2,000 pay raise now heads to the governor’s desk, but some educators say they hoped for more.
Mississippi ranks last in the country when it comes to teacher pay, and these pay raises won’t change that.
“We want to ensure our educators that this is their only job,” said Dr. Darein Spann, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators. “We have public school educators that are working multiple jobs, so they can’t even focus on just ensuring that students are doing well and getting what they need because they have other jobs.”
“This is more of a symbolic gesture, but I think we’ve missed a mark to do something meaningful for teachers,” said Representative Robert Johnson, who voted in favor of the bill. “If you want to attract the best people, you got to pay the best people.”
Educators say they’re making huge strides in student education, pointing to improved scores on state testing and high graduation rates.
Special education teachers would get an additional $2,000. Altogether, they would get a $4,000 raise.
Though they understand the state has a tight budget, educators say they were still expecting more.
“Two thousand dollars is really just a drop in the bucket because once insurance kicks in, that two thousand dollars is gone,” said Spann. “Again, we are appreciative of any raise, but the two thousand dollar raise is really insulting to our educators after the hard work they have shown and have done over the last few years.”
Representative Johnson said he hopes teachers will continue advocating and pushing for larger raises.“What I hope would happen is that teachers would rise up and point out to the people who they elect that we want something more meaningful,” said Johnson. “We appreciate what you did, but we’re expecting you to do more. We don’t move unless the people who elect us push us to move. I’m encouraging teachers, educators, parents, who are concerned and love public education, to get to there and encourage your representatives to get out there and do more than you’re doing right now, your representatives and your senators, and keep the pressure on because with that we’ll do more.”
Assistant teachers, school psychologists and occupational therapists would also get a $2,000 raise.
According to the National Education Association, the average teacher salary in Mississippi is $53,704.
This raise would bump the average teacher salary to $55,704, which would still be last in the country.
School resource officers would get a $5,000 bump in pay.
If this bill is signed into law by the governor, teachers would see this pay raise during the upcoming school year.
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