JACKSON, Miss. – Mississippi spends more on K-12 education administration than any other Southern state, yet pays its assistant teachers among the lowest in the nation, according to a new report from the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor.
State Auditor Shad White said the findings highlight a mismatch in priorities.
“I was alarmed to learn from our analysts that assistant teachers in Mississippi are making less than state employees working as janitors,” White said. “My office has written reports about the need to cut the fat and pay teachers more, but we also need to talk about getting dollars to assistant teachers, because money spent in the classroom makes the biggest difference for our students.”
Assistant teacher salaries rank near the bottom of the state’s job market. Only six of the 755 jobs tracked by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security pay less. Despite requiring more qualifications, assistant teachers earn less than nearly all private-sector occupations in the state.
The report found that raising assistant teacher pay to the regional average would require $67.3 million in new funding, translating to an almost $6,000 salary increase per teacher. Previous audits identified enough potential savings — including procurement reforms, trimming administrative salaries, and eliminating unused school software — to fund the raise without additional taxpayer burden.
The full report is available on the State Auditor’s website under the “Reports” tab by searching “assistant teachers.”
Bob Bakken provides content for DeSoto County News and its social media channels. He is an award-winning broadcaster, along with being a reporter and photographer, and has done sports media relations work with junior and minor league hockey teams. Along with his reports on this website, you will find this veteran media member providing sports updates and high school football play-by-play on Rebel 95.3 FM Radio.
