Reeves calls for teacher pay raises

Gov. Tate Reeves proposed raising teacher pay and eliminating the state’s income tax in his speech at the Neshoba County Fair last week.

Reeves called for an immediate $1,300 a year across-the-board teacher payraise followed by a $1,000 per year raise in each of the next two years.

Reeves said he supports the teacher payraise for the efforts teachers put in during the past year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic and eliminating the income tax because Mississippi's workforce excelled through the pandemic and contributed to a robust economy.

“If we are successful in getting this done,” Reeves said of the teacher pay raise. “This additional $3,300 a year on top of the $1,000 a year raise we did this year will result in Mississippi going from 37th nationally to 21st (in teacher pay).” 

Reeves said despite the pandemic teachers performed better than teachers in other states.

“Mississippi has led the entire nation in education over the last year,” Reeves said. “While teachers in some other states kept kids chained to laptops or smartphones and pretended it was school, Mississippi insisted on in-person instruction. Other states said, ‘We can’t,’ but Mississippi teachers said, ‘Yes we can.’ And they did it.”

Reeves said that as a result of the hard work, Mississippi was recently ranked first in the nation for fourth-grade reading improvement over the last three years and first in the nation in fourth-grade math improvement over the last three years.

“The Biden Administration likes to throw around the term ‘equity,’” Reeves said. “Well, here in Mississippi both black and white students from low-income homes have achieved higher scores than the national average … . When the pandemic hit, our teachers knew that we could not afford to give up that momentum. They knew that our kids needed to get all of the instruction that we could give them.”

Reeves said he has never been more proud to be a Mississippian several times throughout his 15-minute speech at the Pavillion noting the difficulties his administration has faced throughout the past year and a half, including the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He credited Mississippians with pulling the state through the crisis and said that throughout the pandemic Mississippi’s economy thrived.

“Last year during 2020 we saw $1.9 billion in new capital investment in our state,” Reeves said. “To put that into perspective, in the previous 10 years before I was governor, Mississippi averaged approximately $900 million per year. We did twice as good during 2020 than in the previous 10 years and we plan to do even better in the years to come.”

Why? Reeves asked.

“The major reason is you, our workforce,” Reeves said. “You attracted that investment. You created those jobs. You really are second to none, and I’m committed to making sure our state invests back in you.”

Reeves then proposed eliminating the state income tax, saying the economic growth was good for the state’s coffers.

“Mississippi just ended our fiscal year having a budget a billion dollars more than was originally anticipated,” Reeves said. “This is because while the rest of the country shut down we reopened.”

Mississippi reopened faster than many other states, he said.

“I didn’t do the hard work,” Reeves said. “You know who did? You did. You woke up. You went to work. You provided for your family and you helped move our state ahead. In my view, because of that, you should reap the rewards. You should keep more of your paycheck. You’re the reason why we are in the financial shape that we are in and that is why I stand before you today to propose once and for all that we eliminate the state income tax in Mississippi.”

Other speakers throughout the day included State Auditor Shad White, Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Mississippi House Speaker Phillip Gunn.