This week Mississippi legislators passed a law raising educators’ salaries by an average of more than $5000 per year. It’s the largest educator pay raise in state history.

Mississippi’s compensation for educators has traditionally been one of the lowest in the country. Starting teachers will now earn $41,638–above the national average.

The $246 million bill passed Mississippi’s Senate unanimously and cleared the House by a vote of 118-4. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans, and the state’s GOP governor has indicated he will sign it.

This dramatic salary increase goes into effect for the 2022-23 school year. It comes as Mississippi faces more than 3000 teacher vacancies statewide.

North Carolina legislators need to pay very close attention. Our state’s schools are also experiencing massive staffing shortages after a two year pandemic. A state budget passed last fall gives North Carolina educators raises of just 1.3% over each of the next two years–not even close to keeping pace with inflation.

It’s now likely we will see a repeat of the targeted efforts to lure North Carolina educators away that occurred a few years ago when Texas recruiters took out classified ads promising massive raises to teachers willing to relocate.

The teacher exodus North Carolina has seen this year will only increase if lawmakers don’t take significant action to stop it. And while an abrupt change in state legislators’ priorities seems improbable, Mississippi has just proved it’s possible.

When North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the manipulatively titled “Free the Smiles Act” last month, House Speaker Tim Moore promised an override.

Unfortunately for Moore, the bill will not be making it back to the House for a vote, as Senate Democrats successfully sustained Cooper’s veto on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 173 would have made it illegal for school districts to require students to wear masks:

When this legislation was first passed by both chambers of the General Assembly, it was supported by a handful of Democrats, including two in the Senate.

A successful override (three fifths of members present voting yes) would have required those senators to stand with Republicans and support the measure again.

They did not.

Leadership isn’t about blind party loyalty, but it is about making sensible decisions on behalf of your constituents.

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we have no idea what the future holds when it comes to COVID-19 or potentially other viruses down the road.

It’s shocking that the party of small government thinks it’s a good idea to take away the power of local health departments and boards of education to respond to their communities’ health needs, but that’s where divisive politics, social media misinformation, and the utter loss of common sense have brought us.

Just be glad North Carolina Republicans don’t have a veto-proof supermajority.