MS educators react to expected $2,000 pay raise from Legislature
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Teacher pay has been a top topic during Mississippi’s 2026 Legislative Session.
After months of negotiations and competing bills, Lawmakers finally agreed to a $2,000 raise.
State educators are glad to hear about the $2,000 pay raise coming soon, but not all are satisfied.
“I do feel that with our legislature passing this new increase, it can definitely help,” Katina Pickens, Columbus High School Administrator, said. “It shows that we are acknowledging that our teachers need the extra pay, and so we have gotten it passed.”
The state ranks last in the country when it comes to teacher pay, with an average teacher salary of $55,704.
Marissa Hackler has been a teacher for ten years and said the raise is a step in the right direction.
“I think the pay raise is a baby step in the right direction,” Columbus High School Spanish teacher and cheer coach said. “It is a little disheartening for where the Senator started to where it is now because if you think about it we get paid monthly so when you break it down by the month that is maybe an extra $100 and I think it is a little encouraging as far as keeping teacher retention and things like that but I think at the end of the day, the support in the community is what keeps teachers here.”
2022 was the last significant pay raise for teachers, and education leaders have advocated that it was time for another one, especially given inflation and rising costs.
Retired teachers said it’s a small price to pay to the profession that helps shape so many lives.
“We are doing some of the things that we need to do, but we’ve got to get the teachers back in the classrooms,” Johnny Johnson, retired teacher and administrator said. “The only way I see you are going to do that is you are going to have to compensate them at a reasonable rate.”
“It’s an investment, but it is something if you want to see the community change, if you want to see kids be bigger than themselves, one of the best things is to become a teacher and make that change and inspire them to do so,” Hackler said. “At the end of the day, if you think about it, we wouldn’t have doctors, lawyers, and things like that if it weren’t for teachers.”
School resource officers would also get a $5,000 increase in pay.
If the bill is signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves, MS teachers would get to see the raise in pay during the next school year.
