Under Democratic Gov. Ray Mabus in 1988, Mississippi legislators approved about an 18% pay raise for teachers, taking their average salary from about $20,750 to nearly $24,500.
The raise that Reeves signed Wednesday is a larger dollar amount but a smaller percentage increase. Accounting for inflation, the $3,750 average raise in 1988 equal to more than $8,400 today.
Suzanne Smith of Grenada has been teaching for 30 years and now teaches math to students working toward high school equivalency diplomas. At the Capitol on March 16, she said the pay raise plan will “make a huge difference in a lot of people’s lives.”
“I want to think about our assistant teachers. They barely make a living wage at this point,” said Smith, who is secretary/treasurer of the Mississippi Association of Educators. “That $2,000 increase — although it’s not a huge increase, when you compare it to what they’ve got now, it is tremendous.”
Smith said the larger pay raises every fifth year could persuade some longtime educators to remain on the job. Some Mississippi teachers have been retiring and commuting to Alabama and other neighboring states to continue teaching while also collecting their Mississippi retirement pay.
Increasing educators’ pay can be a moving target as states compete with each other. Alabama legislators are considering a proposal to provide pay raises for longtime teachers.
Article Appeared @https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2022/mar/31/mississippi-governor-signs-largest-teacher-raise-y/