House Committee Votes Against Retired Educators

Posted 2/5/2020

Heads up, public education supporters: Legislators in the House of Representatives voted against you in overwhelming fashion today. Teachers, they don't want you to serve in the Legislature and draw your hard-earned retirement.

This afternoon, the House Appropriations Committee voted down two bills that would have clarified the right of retired educators and other PERS retirees to serve in the Legislature and draw their retirement.

To be clear, there is a recent Attorney General ruling that retirees have every right to draw their retirement while serving in the Legislature, just as numerous retirees currently draw their retirement and serve in county and city elected positions or are reemployed by state agencies. Read more background here.

As one state employee said to me, "This (retired educators serving in the Legislature) is a game-changer for the Mississippi Legislature. Philip Gunn knows it, and it scares him to death."

Many retirees believe that the Legislature's real goal is to limit the number of people who can challenge them in an election. It's working pretty well for them so far. In the 2019 Election, 77 of the 174 legislative seats were uncontested.

Gunn has said repeatedly that, if the three newly elected retirees want to serve in the Legislature and draw their retirement, they should introduce a bill to amend state law to more specifically state that it is allowed. (NOTE: The law currently says retirees may be reemployed part-time by the state while drawing their retirement.) So, they drafted two bills to do just that. Here's what happened...

A House Appropriations Committee meeting was called with just 30 minutes notice and the retirees' bills were brought up for a vote. The newly elected retirees were not notified, and the bills had not been posted online. The leadership held a roll-call vote - a highly unusual move (in committee virtually all votes are voice votes). The roll-call vote has fueled speculation that Gunn pressured House members to vote against the bills and wanted to know who had voted against him. Few did. Those bills are dead.

It appears that legal action will be required to protect your right to have retired educators and other PERS retirees represent you in the Legislature. You can help by making a donation - large or small - to help with those expenses - and to send a message! Some have asked how to donate anonymously. On the Go Fund Me donation page, just below the space to enter your name, there is a box next to the statement, "Hide name and comment from everyone but the organizer." If you check that box, your donation will be listed as "Anonymous." 

Friends, what is happening in the House is a travesty. With your help, we can protect retirees' right to serve and draw their hard-earned retirement pensions. After all, together, we've got this!

Teacher Pay Raise Bill Passes Senate Education Committee

Posted 1/30/2020

SB 2001, a teacher pay raise bill, passed unanimously in the Senate Education Committee this morning. The bill gives certified teachers with three or more years' experience a $1,000 pay increase. Teachers with two years of experience and less will get a slightly larger pay bump of $1,110 to bring them to an even $37,000 starting salary. Assistant teachers will receive a $1,000 pay increase. All increases are effective July 1, 2020.

Senate leaders made it clear that this salary increase, while smaller than they would like, is just the beginning of efforts to improve teacher pay and address the teacher shortage crisis. They plan a comprehensive study of teacher pay that will inform the subsequent pay raises they intend to give in years 2, 3, and 4 of this term. Lt. Gov. Hosemann reminded us today of the critical role teachers play in our society, and he emphasized that the goal is to bring teachers to a salary level that will enable them to focus on educating our children without having to worry about whether or not they can pay their bills.

Earlier in the session, the Mississippi House passed a deficit appropriation to ensure that all teachers will receive the full pay raise passed last year, after a calculation error resulted in an inadequate appropriation at the end of the last legislative session.

Clearly, teacher pay is a priority for this Legislature. Please join us in thanking legislators for putting an increase in teacher pay at the top of their to-do list in the very first year of this term. It is significant. We look forward to working with legislators in both chambers to make the 2020 Legislative Session a great one for public education. Together, we've got this!

More Shenanigans, But You Can Help

Posted 2/3/2020

House Speaker Philip Gunn continues to play hardball with the state retirees who were elected in November to represent voters in the Pinebelt, southeast Mississippi, and DeSoto County. The legislators being targeted qualify to serve in the Legislature while drawing their retirement, according to a new PERS regulation and an Attorney General opinion issued last summer. Read more here.

Gunn is attempting to force the legislators out by refusing to pay them the reduced legislative salary required in order for them to continue drawing their retirement. One of the four, Ramona Blackledge, resigned under duress last week, unable to risk the PERS retirement that Gunn is threatening and that is her primary source of income. She describes Gunn's pressure campaign in this interview on WJTV.

The three remaining legislators could pursue legal action to force Gunn to comply with the law and the new PERS regulation, but that can get expensive. You can help! A Go Fund Me account has been established to assist with the cost of their legal representation and help ensure that the policy remains intact for future retirees who wish to serve in the Legislature. A donation of any size can be made here - $5, $100, $1,000 - any amount will be appreciated.

Incumbent legislators have had a sweetheart deal all these years, as the old PERS policy effectively reduced the potential pool of challengers by more than 100,000 Mississippians. There are so few people who are willing to serve in the Legislature and can afford to do so that a whopping 77 of the 174 legislative seats were uncontested last November. Voters in those districts had no choice in whom they elected to represent them.

It appears that Gunn would like to keep it that way.

Here are the facts:
• Mississippi retirees have long been allowed to draw their PERS retirement and serve in county and city elected positions
• Other states with retirement systems that have the same IRS tax status as Mississippi's PERS system allow their retirees to serve in their Legislatures and draw their state retirement pensions
• Having retirees serve in the Mississippi Legislature while drawing their retirement saves the state money, because retirees are required to draw a reduced legislative salary
• Allowing retirees to serve in the Legislature while drawing their retirement does not increase the burden on the PERS system; those retirees will either draw retirement and serve in the Legislature at a reduced salary, or they will draw their retirement and stay home while another person serves in the Legislature at full salary

Here's how you can help:
• Donate to help cover the cost of legal assistance and protect the policy for future retirees
• Share the donation link with your friends and encourage them to donate

You can reach Speaker Gunn at his Capitol office at 601.359.3300.

Mississippi's retired educators and other state retirees have a wealth of knowledge to offer our state. With your help, we can protect their right to serve and draw their hard-earned retirement pensions. After all, together, we've got this!

House Names Education Committee, Governor Signs HB 1

Posted 1/23/2020

Committees have been named in the Mississippi House of Representatives. Rep. Richard Bennett of Long Beach will return as chair of the House Education Committee, and Rep. Kent McCarty of Hattiesburg will serve as vice chair. Other committee members are Representatives Manly Barton of Moss Point, Randy Boyd of Mantachie, Charles Busby of Pascagoula, Larry Byrd of Petal, Alyce Clarke of Jackson, Angela Cockerham of Magnolia, Carolyn Crawford of Pass Christian, Sam Creekmore of New Albany, Clay Deweese of Oxford, Stephanie Foster of Jackson, Debra Gibbs of Jackson, Jeffrey Guice of Ocean Springs, Greg Holloway of Hazlehurst, Mac Huddleston of Pontotoc, Timmy Ladner of Poplarville, Vince Mangold of Brookhaven, Jay McKnight of Gulfport, Carl Mickens of Brooksville, Daryl Porter of Summit, Rob Roberson of Starkville, Rufus Straughter of Belzoni, Zakiya Summers of Jackson, Cheikh Taylor of Starkville, Kenneth Walker of Carthage, and Jason White of West. We look forward to working with them!

Gov. Reeves signed HB 1, the $18.4-million teacher pay raise deficit appropriation to cover the shortfall that occurred at the end of the last legislative session, and Lt. Gov. Hosemann met again today with education advocates, making good on his promise to keep us in the loop and seek our input on education initiatives. We are off to a good start!

Now that House committees have been appointed, I expect activity in the Legislature to pick up considerably. We'll keep you posted as education bills are considered, and we'll let you know when we need your help. In the meantime, ask a friend to join us, and check out The Mississippi Collective - a public education advocacy network of Mississippians under 40. The more of us there are, the better for Mississippi kids. Because together, we've got this!