Nonprofit Mississippi News The House made steps Wednesday to correct a mistake in bureaucratic procedure to make sure there is enough money to pay the $1,500 raise for all Mississippi teachers that was passed into law last year. The 2019 legislative session saw lawmakers pass a $1500 pay increase for assistant teachers and public school teachers, and allocate $58 million for the cost. The Legislature requested the Mississippi Department of Education to count the number of teachers that should be included in the increase and estimate the cost. An incorrect code was used by department officials to track teachers. This resulted in only including state-funded teaching positions. Some teachers are paid with federal money, while others receive state funding. 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. Nearly 10,000 teachers were left out of the raise. The first step in correcting this was taken Wednesday by lawmakers when the House Appropriations Committee passed House Bill 1. This bill was the first that lawmakers considered during the 2020 legislative session. The bill authorizes $18.4million from the state’s general funds to cover the salaries of all 40.991 teachers and assistant teachers. The bill now moves on to the full House for consideration.