Experts: Mississippi teacher pay needs to increase if state wants to keep its educators
Mississippi state senators repeatedly heard on Wednesday something they already knew: The state's teachers are among the worst paid in the nation.
The senate's education committee held an hourslong hearing at the Mississippi State Capitol to study the necessity of giving the state's teachers a raise, with testimony from the Mississippi Department of Education and the Southern Regional Education Board, an Atlanta nonprofit studying how to improve education in 16 southern states.
No Mississippi teachers were called to testify. Teachers were able to submit comments to the committee via email, and more than 200 did so, Sen. Dennis DeBar Jr., chair of the education committee, said.
The state lags the rest of the South in teacher pay, with an average teacher salary of $46,843 for educators with 15 years experience, according to data from the Southern Regional Education Board. That figure is more than $8,300 less than the average salary for a teacher with 15 years experience in the rest of the region.
Read more: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2021/09/16/mississippi-senate-holds-hearings-teacher-pay-health-benefits/8347223002/
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