Mississippi teachers are among the lowest paid in the country. State Auditor Shad White wants state lawmakers to change that next year. 

In a report released Wednesday, White re-ups a request he made last year: The Mississippi Legislature should dedicate half of the state’s K-12 education budget to raising teacher salaries. 

The report underscores that the low pay, an average of $53,704, is unsustainable — something Mississippi teachers have been stressing for years. The average teacher starting salary, $42,492 in Mississippi, is No. 40 in the nation, according to the National Education Association.

In 2022, state lawmakers passed the last meaningful teacher pay raise, an average annual increase of $5,140. But health insurance premium increases and inflation almost immediately started chipping away at the extra pay.

Even when adjusted for cost of living, Mississippi educators are the third-lowest paid in the country, nearly $9,000 less than the national average, according to the auditor’s report. And when their salaries are adjusted for inflation, White’s office says Mississippi teachers are paid less today than they were during the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. 

White, who is weighing a run for governor, has no power over policy or appropriations as auditor. Still, last year he proposed requiring half of education spending go toward teacher salaries.

White has consistently focused on education spending since he took office in 2018, particularly taking aim at money spent on administration and outside of the classroom. By redirecting those funds to the classroom and mandating that 50% of the state’s K-12 budget goes toward teacher salaries, White’s office says the state could fund a teacher pay raise of at least $8,000. 

Teachers recently told Mississippi Today that they have to keep second jobs and cut corners financially to make ends meet. 

“I think all of us have the same attitude: We love our job but feel we are not making enough compared to other professional occupations,” Carrie Bartlett, a longtime teacher in Long Beach, said in a previous interview. 

And as the state’s public school system continues to bask in national recognition for its academic gains, teachers say they deserve better pay now more than ever. 

“Policymakers have touted the ‘Mississippi Miracle,’” said Kelly Riley, executive director of the Mississippi Professional Educators, in a previous interview. “I want to be clear: It wasn’t a miracle. It was the result of incredibly hard work by our educators and our students.

“If you want to use and tout the results of our students and educators … you should also want to recognize and support those educators with competitive, professional compensation.”

In a survey conducted by Riley’s organization, educators say low pay is driving thousands of vacant teaching positions throughout the state.Those vacancies have consequences on student learning, such as bigger classrooms and less individualized teaching. 

Experts have urged lawmakers in hearings over recent months to address state teacher shortages by raising their pay during the 2026 legislative session to attract quality teachers and incentivize them to stay.

House Speaker Jason White has indicated that education will be the headline issue of the legislative session that kicks off in January, and state leaders including Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann say they’re interested in boosting teacher pay. 

However, it’s likely the House will include all of its education policy, including school choice measures, in an omnibus bill next session, which would entangle educator salary increases with controversial legislation that many public school teachers don’t support. 

A previous report from the auditor’s office this year similarly drew attention to substandard pay for assistant teachers, who are among the lowest paid professionals in Mississippi.