Mississippi Department of Education announces Monday that almost 10,000 teachers were not included in a teacher raise. MDE announced that $18.5 million was needed to pay the deficit for the 9,834 teachers who received the pay and benefits increases. This announcement comes nearly three months after it was discovered that not enough money had been set aside to ensure that every teacher in public schools receives a raise. According to MDE, the $1,500 raise will be given to 40,991 teachers. This pay increase costs $76.9million. MDE reports that lawmakers approved a $1500 raise for assistant teachers and public school teachers in the 2019 legislative session. They also set aside $58 millions in the state budget to pay this expense. Mississippi Today reported in April that the Legislature had not allocated enough funds due to an administrative error. Officials at the Mississippi Department of Education blamed the error to an outdated and unreliable information system that officials warned lawmakers. The Legislature requested MDE to count the teachers that should be included in the raise, and the cost. Officials from the department used an MSIS code to refer to state-funded teaching positions. Some teachers are paid with federal money instead of state funds. This meant that some gifted classes, career technical education and teacher assistants were not included in the count. Local superintendents realized that they did not have enough money to raise all their teachers. Carey Wright, the state superintendent of education, stated that no teacher would be denied a raise. Local districts would not need to pay for the funds. Since then, department officials have pledged to overhaul the MSIS system in future. The department released that the expanded list of teaching positions which are eligible for the pay rise includes counselors, teacher aids, librarians, and classroom teachers. It also includes specialized positions like dyslexia therapists and intervention specialists, audiologists, psychologists, and other professionals. The department stated that districts will be able to pay teachers using the original appropriation in order to cover the cost of the pay increase. When the Legislature reconvenes for the 2020 legislative session in January, the Legislature will approve or deny the deficit appropriation. The support of the Legislature for a deficit appropriation has been expressed by legislators. “The House leadership supports funding this deficit and ensuring the school districts won’t be required to absorb any cost associated with the raise,” Rep. Richard Bennett (R-Long Beach), House education chair, said in a statement. Contributing: Aallyah and Kelsey Davis