Video: House Panel Seeks $1,000 Pay Raise for Assistant Teachers

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Assistant teachers could see a $1,000 pay raise under a plan moving forward in the House.

The House Education Committee approved House Bill 582 Wednesday, which would raise the employees’ yearly salary to $14,000 a year from $13,000 a year.

The committee originally considered a $500 increase, but agreed on $1,000. With 6,000 assistant teachers in grades K-3 statewide, a $1,000 raise would cost a total of $6 million.

House Education Committee Chairman John Moore, a Brandon Republican, says assistant teachers were omitted from a teacher pay raise measure that lawmakers passed last year.

The number of assistant teachers has fallen in recent years, with positions cut to save money even as schools face a mandate that students read on at least a basic level by third grade or flunk.