Legislators in the Senate unanimously voted yes to passing Senate Bill 2001. The measure would provide beginning teachers with a $1,110 raise. The average teacher and teacher assistant would receive $1,000. Republican Senator Dennis DeBar of Leakesville, chairs the Education Committee.
“It’s definitely a priority. This proves that education and taking care of teacher pay and getting as close to the southeastern average as soon as possible is a priority for the Senate.
Last year teachers were on track to get this raise, but due to the coronavirus pandemic the bill was shelved after it passed the Senate. Democratic Senator Sollie Norwood of Jackson, is on the Education Committee.
“This is going to be an extremely critical year because of the pandemic and losing a lot of teachers to retirement and so forth. The raise is probably going to be good to attract new teachers as well as tor retain the current teachers,” said Norwood.
The bill would raise a starting teacher’s salary to $37,000. Nancy Loome is with the Parent’s Campaign. She says it’s a step in the right direction but most teachers wish the raise was more.
“When you make a state to state comparison our teachers are woefully underpaid and so we have a long way to go. We have a very serious teacher shortage. We’re very concerned about being able to fill teaching slots into the future,” said Loome.
The average salary for teachers in neighboring Alabama and Louisiana in 2019, was nearly $51,000. It was $45,500 in Mississippi. Senate Bill 2001 now goes to the House for consideration.
