Legislative negotiators said Friday they have agreed to give Mississippi teachers a $2,000 pay raise, a compromise after weeks of talks that at one point included proposals as high as $6,000, negotiators told reporters.
Educators reacted with disappointment. “We’re certainly grateful for any type of raise, but everyone involved in this process knows this does not meet the standard of what educators both have earned and desperately need,” said Jason Reid, a longtime teacher in the DeSoto County School District. Neal McCarty, a high school teacher in Union, said the back-and-forth left teachers feeling let down. “It’s kind of like a slap in the face,” he said.
The debate has been a top issue of the 2026 legislative session. The Senate and House initially advanced different plans — a $2,000 proposal from the Senate and a $5,000 plan from the House — and later considered a $6,000, multi-year Senate option and a one-time $5,000 House option before sending the issue to negotiations, negotiators said.
House Education Chairman Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, said budget pressures and unexpectedly large demands on other state programs limited the final offer. “They rolled in with a huge number,” Roberson said of the Medicaid request, adding that lawmakers “expected a decent size, but nobody expected the monster it ended up being.” Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, said negotiators agreed to a one-time infusion to remain “fiscally responsible” and consider Medicaid and retirement costs.
The agreement would include a $2,000 supplement for special education teachers, bringing their total to $4,000, and $2,000 raises for assistant teachers, school psychologists and occupational therapists, DeBar said. He also said school attendance officers would receive $5,000 raises and that the plan would add nine new attendance officers. Lawmakers plan to vote on the negotiated budget bills Sunday, and both chambers must pass the package; negotiators said the issue could be revisited next year. “We can always address it again next year,” DeBar said. Advocacy groups also criticized the outcome. “It’s very disappointing,” said Nancy Loome, leader of The Parents’ Campaign, a public school advocacy organization.
