State Senator Dennis DeBar discusses teacher pay raises
Mississippi State Senator Dennis DeBar, chair of the Senate Education Committee, was in Pascagoula Monday for a state-wide listening tour to discuss teacher pay raises.
Educators from all grade levels and subjects voiced their frustrations with the lack of money they’re being paid, considering the salary of teachers in other states in the region, the number of years they’ve been in the classroom, and the hardships they faced during the pandemic. Fifth grade teacher Jamie Cooper said, “After the pandemic we were hailed as heroes. And not the pandemic has kinda eased up a little bit. We are still worrisome of some aspects of it. But we were heroes at one point in time. And now it’s time to pay those heroes.”
In his 11th year of teacher, Cooper has seen an average annual pay raise of $67.71. The fifth-grade teacher has a master’s degree and is a nationally recognized educator and has worked a second job at the Holiday Express for several years, yet he is unable to afford a home. “The average salary for the teacher here in Mississippi, a lot of teachers cannot afford the American Dream of owning a home. Debt to income ratio is too high for some teachers because we have school debt or we have a car payment and it’s just really hard for teachers just to achieve the American dream.”
During the 2019-2020 academic school year, Mississippi was last in the nation in average teacher salary at $45,192, according to business.org. Senator Dennis DeBar said, “It’s more about being competitive with our other states. And you know, whatever that salary has to be to make it happen, then that’s what we need to focus on. How do we keep our teachers in Mississippi and be happy and allow them to do the job that they need to do and that’s my job and that’s what I’m going to do.”
The Mississippi Legislature resumes session in January and lawmakers will be able to begin filling bills again.
