House ups ante on teacher pay to $4,000

Published 7:42 pm Monday, March 11, 2019

(AP) — Some Mississippi House members want to give public school teachers a $4,000 raise over the next two years.

The state House voted Monday to amend Senate Bill 2770, which had proposed a pair of $500 raises over the next two years to instead give a pair of $2,000 raises.

That would cost the state nearly $206 million over two years.

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The move came after a revenue report on Friday showed state government is on pace to end the current budget year with a $190 million surplus.

House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett says he wants to give teachers as much money as possible, but says the state also has other priorities it needs to fund.

The bill would also boost the long-frozen salaries of assistant teachers.