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Senate approves education budget with teacher pay increases and enrollment adjustment
Summary
The Mississippi Senate adopted the education budget (House Bill 13 95), funding the student formula at $2,965,532,853 while noting a roughly 7,224-student enrollment decline and approving $2,000 raises for teachers and teacher assistants. The bill includes multiple targeted supplements for special education, school-attendance officers and early learning coaches.
The Mississippi Senate adopted House Bill 13 95, the education budget, moving the student funding formula to $2,965,532,853 and noting a decline in enrollment that reduced the bill about $33,977,834 from the legislative budget request. "The 1st component is the student funding formula. Senate action is $2,965,532,853," Senator DeBarr explained during floor debate.
Senator DeBarr said the Senate added targeted increases to meet priorities: a $2,000 pay raise for teachers and a $2,000 raise for teacher assistants, a $5,000 raise for school-attendance officers and funding to add 99 school-attendance officers, early-learning coaches, and a $1,000 special-education salary supplement. "We have, gave the SAOs a $5,000 pay raise, bringing their salary to just under starting salary to just under $30,000," he said. The bill also shifts about $3 million of some ESA funding to the education excellence fund and includes a new state testing contract appropriation.
The Senate adopted the strike-all amendment and passed the bill by use of the morning roll call; the bill carries a reverse repealer and will go to conference where applicable. Supporters said the package preserves full funding of the formula while directing new dollars to teacher pay and student supports; questions about long-term funding and changes tied to enrollment were noted but no further legislative action was taken on the floor at session end.
