This story was reported and written by our media partner the Virginia Mercury.
From last year to now, Virginia raised teacher pay by an average of $3,000. Still, the commonwealth’s average pay rate for educators remains stagnant compared to other states, according to the latest salary report published by the National Education Association.
The commonwealth dropped by one spot to 26th, paying teachers an average of $66,327, an increase from a year ago. Virginia’s average teacher pay is $5,703 below the national average of $72,030, the NEA report states.
Education leaders and lawmakers in the commonwealth said inflation and investments are some of the factors contributing to mixed results in the national salary report.
“Clearly (the report) shows that we have made good improvement in recent years, and we have a long way to go,” said House Education Committee Chair Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke.
Rasoul admitted that the commonwealth is thousands of dollars below the national teacher pay average, “but when we started this journey a few years ago, we were in the bottom third of states, and so we’re approaching where we need to be.”
The Virginia Education Association (VEA), representing the largest group of K-12 teachers in the commonwealth, said that while the national data shows gains have been made in Virginia, pre-kindergarten to higher education teachers are still not making enough to support themselves after being adjusted for inflation.
According to VEA, the average public school teacher salary increased by 3% from the previous year, but when adjusted for inflation, teachers made only $108 more.
“While it might look like teachers are getting support, they are actually losing money, which has a direct impact on student learning,” VEA said.
While recognizing recent gains, VEA president Carol Bauer said Virginia’s teachers are “still losing economic ground” while schools continue weathering the state’s education staffing shortages.
“True historic investment means decisively closing salary gaps, adequately funding schools, and ensuring every classroom has a qualified teacher. Virginia must commit to real, sustained investments to attract and retain educators, rather than relying on incremental gains that barely keep pace with inflation,” Bauer said.
What can Virginia do now?
Virginia has an opportunity to boost educator pay even more, after the General Assembly recommended changes to the state budget.
This week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin will decide whether to support lawmakers’ budget proposal to provide bonuses to teachers and lift a cap on state funding for non-instructional school staff positions. This would give school divisions greater flexibility to hire the staff they need without being “restricted” by outdated student-to-staff ratios.
In 2009, during the Great Recession, lawmakers initiated the cap to reduce state spending on non-instructional school staff positions, including central office and administrative, technical, clerical, maintenance, and instructional support positions.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to comment on the report. However, in the governor’s budget recommendations in March, Youngkin wrote that Virginia has raised teacher pay by 18% over the last three years.
The budget amendments now being considered by the governor contain $166 million more for public education, including $84.7 million to raise the cap.
Last year, state lawmakers formed a joint committee to work on overhauling the Standards of Quality (SOQ), the state’s funding formula determining the financial needs of school divisions, after a state study group found local governments have been shouldering a disproportionate share of K-12 education costs compared to the state’s contributions.
Lawmakers arranged for the state and localities to pay an even split of contributions in 1972, but they changed it in 1993, urging localities to start paying for K-12 fringe benefits.
According to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the state’s share was established at 55%, while localities paid 45%.
What’s next?
House Education Committee Vice Chair Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, carried the support cap bill and budget language to support non-instructional positions.
As a former teacher and school board member, Simonds said a core issue her legislation will address is the administration’s prioritized focus on overhauling testing and accountability measures — part of the administration’s efforts to combat learning loss and raise student testing scores — instead of recruiting and maintaining teachers.
Simonds said some ways to make teaching the best job in Virginia could involve creating competitive pay, treating educators as professionals in the school buildings, and offering maternity leave, professional development and planning periods to collaborate with colleagues.
“The only thing that has been really proven to improve education is highly qualified teachers,” Simonds said. “Having a highly qualified teacher in every classroom is the way we move the needle on test scores for our children.”
