JACKSON — Ever since Gov. Tate Reeves changed course during his 2019 election campaign and proposed major pay increases for teachers, those teachers have been watching for state Republican leaders to deliver.
Maybe that’s about to happen.
On the same day the Senate Education Committee, chaired by Republican Sen. Dennis DeBar of Leakesville, considered pay raises, Reeves released a report calling for significant increases and more. Apparently, the only coordination of the two events was the involvement of the Southern Regional Education Board, an education research organization serving 16 Southern states from Texas to Delaware.
The SREB presented data to the Senate committee, as reported by Mississippi Today, showing Mississippi trails the region and nation in most teacher pay measures, particularly for starting and mid-career teachers. In addition, committee members discussed the high costs of the state’s retirement plan for teachers in comparison to other states.
The SREB also informed and coordinated a report issued by the Governor’s Education Human Capital Task Force, a panel consisting of university, community college, state Department of Education, and state employment professionals plus three teachers, one superintendent, and the head of the Barksdale Reading Institute. The governor is listed as a member, too.
The panel’s comprehensive study, “Addressing Mississippi’s Teacher Shortage: A Collaborative Action Plan,” found a lack of “well-prepared, effective teachers” and too many “inexperienced, underprepared, and ill-equipped” teachers serving Mississippi students. It also reported a growing “lack of interest in the profession” and serious retention problems.
The study proposed a comprehensive solution including complex licensure changes, intensive teacher support in schools, improvements in college and university teacher preparation and increased teacher pay.
This is seen as a move by Reeves to deliver on his campaign promise. The Senate committee action seems to support Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann’s commitment to teacher pay increases. Speaker of the House Philip Gunn has been on record supporting teacher pay increases.
So, raises look promising, but (there’s always a but) some legislators say the cost of substantial teacher pay increases would make elimination of the state personal income tax a no go. Both Gunn and Reeves want to do away with the tax.
And pay raises alone are not enough, as the SREB report notes, to solve teacher shortages, particularly teacher retention. “Challenging working conditions, including lack of support, overwhelming stress, and inadequate pay and benefits,” were cited as reasons why teachers leave the profession. Not cited were issues such as difficulties in passing the required Praxis exam, burdensome student testing, too many dilapidated facilities, unruly student behavior, concerns about safety, and weak administrators.
There’s much to be done if we want good schools.
But maybe our politicians are coming to realize we can’t expect our teachers to be smart enough to pass the Praxis exam and master curriculum content, talented enough to effectively teach that content to students with a wide array of competencies and motivations, emotionally equipped and sufficiently trained to engage students and maintain classroom discipline, and yet work in highly stressful environments for little pay for years on end.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. — Proverbs 3:27
- Bill Crawford, of Jackson, is a Republican former state lawmaker.
