The last weeks of January are difficult for Mississippi teachers. Mention of the stretch will draw audible gasps. By then, paychecks last deposited in mid-December are stretched thin.
For Jefferson County biology teacher Chiquitta Gaylor, that meant Christmas shopping in July. For others, it means pay day loans and a tighter winter budget.
“Even to this day, that’s horrible,” said veteran Amanda Elzy High School teacher Brandice Brown-Williams. “Every year, I try to write a Facebook status and tell as many young teachers as I can to start saving in October.”
Teacher Brandice Williams poses for a portrait outside of Amanda Elzy High School in Greenwood, Miss., Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi TodayIt’s a unique problem for teachers in districts that don’t pay their teachers twice a month or bimonthly. Only 10% of US employers pay monthly, according to the Bureau of US Labor Statistics.
In Mississippi, school districts were granted the right three years ago to pay teachers bimonthly. But few have made the change.
Mississippi Today compiled data from every school district in Mississippi regarding bimonthly teacher pay, calling superintendents and clicking through school handbooks. We found four of Mississippi’s 138 school districts had adopted it.
Lowndes County School District, Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District, Holly Springs School District and Harrison County School District offer bimonthly pay. Harrison County is the largest district to offer it.
During the 2022 legislative session, Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, authored the bill giving districts the choice whether to adopt the policy of bimonthly pay that later became law.
Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, authored the bill giving school districts the choice whether to adopt a policy of bimonthly pay for teachers that became law. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Credit: AP“We have all probably heard teachers ask for it,” he said on the Senate floor.
In a recent interview with Mississippi Today, Debar remarked that it was about “security.”
“We’re trying to help get more young people into the education field,” he added.
In districts with high turnover rates and multiple vacancies, bimonthly pay could be an enticing enough incentive to retain some of their talent.
Mary Johnson felt so during her recent tenure as superintendent of Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District. On July 1, the Delta district became the latest to offer the payroll option. One teacher that was expected to leave already signed a contract for next year. Summer hiring has been easier, she reports.
“A lot of what we notice in the Mississippi Delta is teachers are trying to make ends meet,” said Johnson. “I feel like it’s going to help with teacher retention. It will relieve the stress to aid them to get from one period to the next.”
Her announcement of the new board policy went viral on Facebook. ed video garnered about 90,000 views and was shared nearly 300 times.
She shared that most of the early resistance to the new policy came from a misunderstanding regarding taxes. Some of her teachers were under the impression their paycheck would be taxed twice. She also had to convince a payroll staff that would now have to double their workload.
“I think it’s going to be a recruitment strategy in the long run,” she said.
Some districts even tried bimonthly payout but found it impractical. The district had to hire payroll staff full time during the summer months to process the twice-a-month payments. That was the case in Gulfport, said Superintendent Glen East.
“But teacher retention has been an issue beyond bimonthly pay,” he said. “In the past, if we could get teachers past the three- and eight-year mark, we could keep them. That isn’t happening anymore.”
For public school advocates and political candidates, bimonthly teacher pay, like other investments in teaching staff, have been important campaign issues. Among other challenges confronted by Delta educators, it inspires former Greenville teacher and principal Clayton Barksdale to run for state Senate.
Barksdale feels bi-monthly teacher pay would help districts hold on to talented teachers. He remembers early on in his teaching career when he would call in sick for work because he didn’t have enough gas money to get to school.
“Teachers are a loving bunch,” he said. “They don’t mind using their own money for their classroom. So it would make sense to pay those teachers back in a form of biweekly pay as quickly as possible.”
“With bimonthly pay, you just feel better about coming to work. You have less stress. You have more life in you,” he said.
As a young single mom, Jefferson County School District biology teacher Chiquita Gaylor found it hard to budget, especially during the winter stretch. She frequently bought science kits out of her own pocketbook.
“I think it would be helpful,” she said. “You have to be very, very disciplined.”
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