Abysmally low pay is driving Mississippi’s assistant teacher shortage, State Auditor Shad White said in a report. 

His office criticizes administrative costs and “outside-of-classroom” spending in the report, and recommends diverting that money to boost assistant teacher pay, which averages $22,840 a year in Mississippi. 

While it’s the first time he’s focused on assistant teachers, White, who is weighing a run for governor, has consistently drawn attention to education spending since he took office in 2018.

White first drew attention to outside-of-classroom spending in a 2019 report that includes examples such as district office salaries, campus and building maintenance and the production of school informational material. Previous reports from the auditor’s office have similarly encouraged districts to cut spending that doesn’t directly go to the classroom, on duplicative or unused equipment and administrative salaries. His predecessor had also criticized Mississippi’s spending on education administration.

Though he has no power over policy or appropriations, White proposed a bill last year that would mandate at least half of the state’s education dollars go toward teacher salaries. White has recently received criticism that some of his reports — including one for which he paid millions to a consultant — are aimed at his gubernatorial aspirations, rather than his job as auditor.

The new report is largely aimed at the Legislature and local school districts, a spokesperson for the auditor said. That’s because state law establishes the minimum salary for assistant teachers, not the Mississippi Department of Education. Districts can add to this base amount.

Advocates and some lawmakers have said for years that teacher assistants often get short shrift even when the Legislature raises pay for teachers.

The Legislature increased the minimum assistant teacher salary from $15,000 a year to $17,000 in 2022, but White is calling on lawmakers to raise the floor again. Raising the state’s average assistant teacher salary to the regional average would mean a $6,000 pay raise — a $67.3 million cost, the report says. 

“Assistant teachers are a vital part of Mississippi classrooms … many Mississippi students will suffer without classroom support from an assistant teacher,” the report reads. “Policymakers can build on Mississippi’s educational momentum by cutting runaway outside-the-classroom spending and reinvesting those dollars directly into classrooms—where they make the biggest difference.”

Assistant teachers in Mississippi are some of the lowest paid professionals in the state, according to data tracked by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, and their salaries lag behind assistant teachers in almost every other state. Ample research shows that low pay discourages people from becoming teachers and drives them out of the profession. 

Mississippi requires that an assistant teacher be present in every kindergarten, first grade, second grade and third grade classroom. Though their specific duties vary by grade and classroom, they generally help manage students and assist with instruction.

Mississippi Department of Education data shows that there have been at least 500 vacant assistant teacher positions in the state annually since the 2021-2022 school year. 

The report notes a discrepancy of about $62,000 between average entry-level pay for assistant teachers and entry-level school administrators. 

“I don’t make enough to cover most of my expenses,” said a Cleveland School District assistant teacher, who spoke to Mississippi Today on the condition of anonymity out of fear of losing her job. “I live from check to check.”

She supports three kids on an annual salary of $21,000. Cleveland School District does not offer biweekly pay, so her paychecks have to stretch further. The longtime assistant teacher has left other school districts in the Mississippi Delta because they offered annual salaries of less than $20,000.

Now, she’s working on a master’s degree and studying for the Praxis exam, a test that teachers must pass in order to be certified, hoping to make a livable wage.