The Mississippi Senate passed a bill aimed at shoring up the state’s pension system for public employees and a trio of others related to public education on Wednesday.
The Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System has been estimated to have an unfunded liability exceeding $25 billion, causing lawmakers to enter a mad dash to solve the financial side of pensions two sessions ago. In 2024, lawmakers limited the authority of the PERS board by stripping its power to set employer contribution rates, capping how much those rates could rise, and approving a one-time $110 million payment into the system. In 2025, lawmakers created a fifth-tier retirement plan for future hires in an attempt to slow the unfunded liability, although the new system has received harsh criticism from some groups of public employees, such as first responders.
This time around, the Senate voted unanimously on SB 2004 to plug the system with an immediate $500 million transfer later this year before transferring $50 million each year through 2036, making for a total transfer of $1 billion. Funds transferred to PERS would come from the Capital Expense Fund, but in the event those are not available, they would be drawn from the state’s general fund.
“We have reformed, and we promised we would send money when the system was reformed,” Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, said.
Sparks, who authored the SB 2004, said more bills to try to shore up PERS are in the works.
On the education front, bills authored by Senate Education Chair Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, and passed Wednesday would give educators from kindergarten to university levels an immediate pay raise; allow retired K-12 teachers to step back in the classroom without risking retirement benefits; and make it easier for K-12 students to transfer from one school to another, meaning the neighborhoods they live in wouldn’t control where they receive educations.
SB 2001, which passed unanimously, would increase K-12 teacher salaries by $2,000 beginning in the 2026-27 school year. Professors, associate professors, assistant professors, and course instructors at higher-learning institutions like community colleges and four-year institutions would also receive a $2,000 salary bump. Assistant teachers on the K-12 level would see minimum base salaries increase from $17,000 to $19,000.
In that same vein, SB 2003 passed 50-2 and is intended to help address a teacher shortage that the Mississippi Department of Education has estimated to include thousands of open positions. The bill aims to make it easier for retired educators – and potentially any retiree in the state public pension system – to teach without risking benefits they’ve worked decades to receive. It increases retired teachers’ take-home pay from 50% to 65%, reduces the post-retirement sit-out period from 90 days to 45 days, and removes an existing requirement that retirees can only be hired in districts with a critical teacher or subject-area shortage.
SB 2002 makes for the first step – and only step, according to DeBar – the chamber will take this session toward expanding school choice, the idea of giving parents more of a say in where their children are educated. The bill would more so open the process for public K-12 students who want to attend a school outside their home district. Often called “portability,” current statute allows for a student to transfer to another school with the approval of both the home and receiving districts, something that rarely happens. The home district’s veto power would be removed under the proposal.
The bill saw plenty of debate, mostly sparked by Democratic members, over a lack of publicly provided transportation for transferring students and state-allocated money following students to new schools. DeBar countered those concerns with his belief that it brings more competition to the public school scene when it comes to providing the best education possible.
“This is as far as we’re willing to go. I’m not in favor of vouchers,” DeBar said in regard to universal school choice that includes using public funds to help parents pay for private school tuition. “This creates competition amongst our schools to make them better.”
The bill ultimately passed 38-19, mostly on party lines. All Democrats voted against it. The only Republican to vote against it was Sen. Walter Michel, a Republican from Ridgeland who represents part of Madison County. The Madison County School District has been a public opponent of public-to-public transfers, even issuing a legislative agenda saying so before the 2025 session.
After the Senate’s busy day, Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann lauded his chamber for passing the measures.
“These bills are the direct results of education committee hearings and extensive conversations with the Department of Education, educators across Mississippi, and PERS leadership,” Hosemann said in a statement. “The $2,000 teacher pay raise is a starting point, and we are hopeful it can increase as the budgeting process continues.
“The legislature has poured more resources into our education system than ever in our history, and we are now 16th in the country (in overall education). These measures build on that progress by raising teacher pay, addressing teacher shortages, strengthening PERS, and expanding options for parents.”
While the Senate has sent its initial bills on PERS and education to the House for consideration, Republican Speaker Jason White and company are considering their own bills on the matters.