Mississippi school districts face problems with low pay, teacher shortages

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – School districts across the state are facing a teacher shortage.

Pay for educators in Mississippi is among the lowest in the Southeast.

Lawmakers are working to address the problem, while district leaders say any little bit helps.

Legislators in Jackson are considering a bill to boost the starting salary for teachers across the state.

It would increase the starting salary for educators by one thousand dollars, over two years. That’s 500  a year.

“I wish they could raise it to $5000 a year and give them a substantial jump where it could be realized but our teachers appreciate anything they get and hopefully things will get better, the economy picking up across the nation and hopefully we’ll see that reflected in the investment of education,” said Superintendent Lynn Wright.

Lowndes County Schools Superintendent Lynn Wright is thankful lawmakers are trying to do something to help.

However, with enrollment down in education programs at the state’s major universities, it will take time to fill the teacher shortage the state faces.

“A lot of teachers have second jobs that definitely help and hopefully when the money is available we’ll be able to get more on the pay raise to keep teachers coming in this profession,” said 5th grade teacher Heather Bascom.

Wright said merit pay programs do increase teacher pay and its working in his district.

New Hope Middle School has gone from a C to an A in state rankings.

Now, teachers will see a boost in their bank account.

“The state is set up by a merit pay system and they pay bonuses to the district and the district has a committee at each school and if the school has shown enough progress the teachers are rewarded with a bonus that’s up to five-hundred,sixteen-hundred dollars, if they were to move up a letter grade,”said Wright.

Wright said Lowndes County does not face this dilemma, while some districts have 20 teaching positions open.