JACKSON — The Mississippi House Thursday passed a bill meant to ensure teachers get a full paycheck in August, but school board leaders say they don’t believe the proposal is legal.
The dispute is wrapped up in an effort by school boards and superintendents to roll back a 2012 legislative mandate that classes can’t start before the third Monday in August. Those who want schools free to start earlier have been using the paycheck problem to push lawmakers for repeal.
House Bill 71, passed on a 120-0 vote, directs school districts to pay all employees in equal monthly installments. It’s meant to end problems created by a recent attorney general’s opinion saying that full August paychecks would violate the state Constitution’s ban on paying employees for work not yet performed.
An amendment to the bill Thursday on the floor of the House also attempts to guarantee equal monthly paychecks for non-licensed employees including custodians, bus drivers and assistant teachers. But even House Education Committee Chairman John Moore, R-Brandon, said that amendment may not be legal. Non-licensed employees are treated as hourly employees, creating legal complications in trying to spread out their pay in equal installments.
Typically, a teacher’s yearly contract begins Aug. 1, and they get their pay in 12 equal monthly checks, even though they don’t work during the summer. For a 187-day contract, that works out to 16 days of work each month. But in 2014, schools can start Aug. 18. With 10 days of school and maybe three days of preparation, a teacher likely won’t have done 16 days of work.
That would mean less than a full paycheck in August, although the remainder of the pay would be made up in following months. Last year, superintendents said they were worried that employees could see a cash crunch.
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