For the second time this session, the Mississippi Senate has passed a teacher pay raise.
The chamber passed an amended version of a House bill that, if adopted, would raise the starting salary for Mississippi teachers up to $37,000 while also providing a $1,000 raise for current teachers. The bill would also raise the salary of teacher assistants to $15,000.
The Senate’s initial proposal (SB 2001) died in committee over in the House. Its language was inserted into the bill that was passed today by a unanimous vote.
“We want our teachers to know how important they are to our collective success, and particularly do not want their efforts during the pandemic to go unnoticed. When the second teacher pay raise bill is returned to the House, we hope they will quickly approve it,” Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann said Tuesday.
Because of the changes made by the Senate Education Committee, the bill will be sent back to the House.
The House did include teacher pay in its proposal to eliminate the state income tax, but that legislation faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
