Thursday, Executive Director of Mississippi Medicaid, Drew Snyder, tweeted that Medicaid has made a substantial cut to it’s FY 2019 budget. They deficit is from $40 million to $5 million.
Pleased to report that @MSMedicaid has cut its Fiscal Year 2019 budget deficit from $40 million to $5 million. We will continue to responsibly reduce spending, and do not plan to request a deficit appropriation.
— Drew Snyder (@SnyGuy) September 6, 2018
After the information was released, Lt. Governor Tate Reeves shared some of his own thoughts as to where the money could go, including teacher pay raises and a boost in pay for CPS workers.
Great job by @snyguy & his team. With these savings & a strong economy pushing revenue growth, I believe we can invest those resources in Mississippi’s future, our children. It’s time to raise salaries again for teachers & boost pay for CPS caseworkers next year! #teacherpayraise https://t.co/izzFQPd5Zk
— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) September 6, 2018
And it looks like Gov. Bryant agrees…
Great idea, Lieutenant Governor. I’m all in. ? https://t.co/IEcedaKSew
— Phil Bryant (@PhilBryantMS) September 6, 2018
What does it all mean? Could we see legislation in the 2019 legislative session to invoke a pay raise initiatives?
This could be foreshadowing on what is to come in January when lawmakers return to the State Capitol for the 2019 Legislative Session.
Senator Gray Tollison, Chairman of the Education Committee said he thinks these pay raises would be a great idea. While no dollar amount has been discussed he believes that after the passage of an infrastructure bill, it puts lawmakers in a better place to be able to accomplish something like teacher pay raises. He said if everything continues to come together like it has been and revenue continues to improve, then legislation targeting salary could be brought up.
However some lawmakers are calling the social media posts a hoax.
TEACHER SCAM by the TATE EXPRESSWAY: It’s sad how little Tate Reeves gives MS teachers and other voters for understanding reality. TATE has KILLED every single teacher pay raise bill in the Senate the last… https://t.co/XRKd6suTLW
— Jay Hughes (@Jay4Mississippi) September 6, 2018
No word is clear on a plan to initiate this raise, but there is support from lawmakers who are applauding the initiative to change the salaries of teachers across the state.
I applaud Tate Reeves for his vision on teacher pay. Now that the state’s infrastructure needs have been addressed, and Medicaid appears stabilized, the time may be right. https://t.co/E6WuZTbJCX
— Rep. Greg Snowden (@snowlaw) September 6, 2018
Sarah Ulmer
