Nonprofit Mississippi News On Friday, the state Senate passed a $210 million teacher pay increase without any debate. However, the entire Black Caucus didn’t vote as its members protested a bill on race theory that was passed earlier. Senate Bill 2444 would give an average teacher salary rise of $4,700 over two-years and restructure how teachers are paid in order to offer higher long-term salaries. The state Senate and House have now introduced competing teacher raise bills, despite the fact that the state budget is largely funded by federal government pandemic expenditures. Both would represent one of the largest teacher raises in state history. The House proposal is $219 million and provides raises of $4,000-$6,000 per year. Dennis DeBar (R-Leakesville), Senate Education Chairman, stated that “This will hopefully encourage people to go into teaching and incentivize existing teachers to stay and stay in Mississippi.” According to DeBar, experts and teachers have called on lawmakers to “remove some stagnation” in teacher pay. The House plan would allow for substantial pay increases to teachers over five years. On Friday, DeBar presented the bill. Senator Philip Moran (R-Kiln) successfully proposed a motion to stop debate and allow immediate voting. Senate Bill 2444 was passed unanimously by 35-0. However, 14 members of Senate’s Black Caucus left before the bill could be considered. According to several metrics, Mississippi’s teacher salary is among the lowest in the country. The state also has a teacher shortage. According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, almost 50% of all new teachers quit the profession within five years. Both bills aim to raise starting teacher salaries and Lt. Governor. Delbert Hosemann and Philip Gunn, House Speaker, are the main authors of both legislative proposals. Gov. Tate Reeves all have promised “significant” teacher increases. Reeves proposed a $3,300 decrease over two years. Hosemann said Friday in a statement that teachers open the doors to the minds of the future. Chairman DeBar’s listening skills in devising a system to reward teachers for their hard work is a credit to me. The Senate plan would raise the starting salary of teachers to $40,000, and also includes increases of $1,325 to 1,624 over five years as teachers get more experience. The House plan provides a starting salary of $43,000 as well as a $2,000 increase for teacher assistants. The House plan would increase starting teacher salaries above the national and Southeastern averages. Each chamber passed its measure and sent it to the other. In the 2022 legislative session, it is likely that a combination of both the measures will pass. The vote was over on Friday. House Minority Leader Derrick Simmons released a statement regarding the Black Caucus walkout, and the subsequent vote about teacher pay. Simmons stated that Senate Democrats have been the leaders in teacher pay increases and have advocated fair career plans to show our appreciation for the work of our teachers. “However, today’s roll call vote to pass Senate Bill 2444 (our teacher pay plan) was passed quickly after protests by members of our caucus against a vague bill that would ban critical race theory in Mississippi’s public schools. It also did not create any boundaries. It was unfair for such a bill to be introduced or passed, as it degrades a large portion of our population. Despite not being counted due to the chain of events,” Senate Democrats support raises for educators.” READ MORE: Teachers react to the pay raise proposals