Lawmakers consider teacher pay, insurance cost for families

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi public school teacher with 15 years of experience opting for a family health coverage plan took home just under $30,000 a year in net pay in 2020. That’s just a couple thousand dollars more than the net pay for a first-year teacher not opting for a family coverage. A policy adviser for the Southern Regional Education Board called the number “shocking” during a Senate Education Committee meeting. A teacher with 15 years of experience in 2020 took home an annual salary of about $29,680 after taxes and benefits, compared with about $26,580 for first-year teachers, according to data shared by the Atlanta nonpartisan nonprofit.