A reporter reaches for a sheet outlining the salient points of a teacher pay raise conference report during a news conference called by Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, during which he and several House leaders said the body had signed off on a plan to increase some of the lowest teacher salaries in the nation by an average of $4,850, at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, March 10, 2022. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Rogelio V. Solis
AP
Teachers aren’t the only ones who will benefit if the START act passes Tuesday. The bill includes compensation for licensed professionals working on school campuses across the state.
All school nurses, certified school counselors, athletic trainers, and speech-language pathologists and audiologists will receive $6,000 raises. The bill is the first time athletic trainers would be eligible for such compensation, said Rep. Kent McCarty.
“This bill also lifts the cap on national board supplements available to school nurses and CALT’s (certified academic language therapists),” McCarty added. “It is my understanding that National board certified teachers, counselors and SLP’s are not currently capped and that remains unchanged. Supplements for nurses and CALT’s were capped at 35 and 20, respectively.”
House Education Committee vice chairman Kent McCarty, R-Hattiesburg, left, explains to reporters how the funding for a teacher play raise would work after Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, second from left, and other House leaders said Thursday that the body has signed off on a plan to increase some of the lowest teacher salaries in the nation by an average of $4,850 during a news conference at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, March 10, 2022. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
START also provides reimbursement for “the actual cost of completing each component of acquiring the certificate or endorsement” up to $500 per component and no more than four components. The employees would even be reimbursed for failed attempts.
The House will vote on the proposed bill Tuesday. The final step will be approval from Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 10:21 AM.
Mona Moore was a Service Journalism Desk Editor for the Sun Herald in Mississippi; Mahoning Matters in Ohio; and the Ledger-Enquirer and Telegraph in Georgia. Originally from West Covina, California, she holds a bachelor’s and master’s in corporate and public communication from the University of South Alabama. Mona’s writing and photography have been recognized by press associations in Mississippi, North Carolina and Florida.
