Mississippi is facing a labor shortage among teachers, school staff and administrators. Data from the Department of Education reports a year-over-year reduction of 515 vacancies across all occupations, but many jobs remain empty. Toren Ballard is Director of K-12 Policy with Mississippi First, a non-profit education advocacy group. He says more than half of teachers are considering leaving the classroom within the coming year.
Ballard says “The teachers who were struggling the most and actually more likely to leave the classroom, were teachers in kind of the early-middle part of their careers. So they’ve had a few years of step raises, but they also have more expenses than a lot of other teachers. So they’re more likely to have families, and they’re also more likely to have student debt.”
Teachers did receive a pay raise this year, averaging around $5,000 in additional wages. But Ballard says much of that raise has been offset by record inflation, equating to only around a $1,300 raise. Additionally, the cost of health insurance for educators has risen, further reducing some of the potential gains.
Ballard says there are a few ways the state can begin to address the systemic issues that prompt teachers to leave.
“We are already in talks with legislators at the capitol to pass bills that expand (the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program), that create a critical shortage stipend, and lower (insurance) premium contributions for teachers,” says Ballard. “And we are hearing legislators be fairly optimistic about the chances of some of this legislation going through.”
The data in the report by Mississippi First was collected before the teacher pay raise was passed in 2022, however, a follow-up survey done last month found similar results in the number of teachers interested in a career change.
