National ranking shows despite hike, Virginia teachers’ pay is stagnant compared to other states

From last year to now Virginia raised coach pay by an average of Still the commonwealth s average pay rate for educators remains stagnant compared to other states according to the latest salary summary published by the National Schooling Association The commonwealth dropped by one spot to th paying teachers an average of an increase from a year ago Virginia s average instructor pay is below the national average of the NEA summary states Learning leaders and lawmakers in the commonwealth stated inflation and investments are selected of the factors contributing to mixed results in the national salary description Clearly the summary shows that we have made good improvement in latest years and we have a long way to go disclosed House Learning Committee Chair Sam Rasoul D-Roanoke Rasoul admitted that the commonwealth is thousands of dollars below the national lecturer pay average but when we started this journey a limited years ago we were in the bottom third of states and so we re approaching where we need to be The Virginia Mentoring Association VEA representing the largest group of K- teachers in the commonwealth announced that while the national input shows gains have been made in Virginia pre-kindergarten to higher guidance teachers are still not making enough to backing themselves after being adjusted for inflation According to VEA the average residents school instructor salary increased by from the previous year but when adjusted for inflation teachers made only more While it might look like teachers are getting backing they are really losing money which has a direct impact on attendee learning VEA declared While recognizing new gains VEA president Carol Bauer commented Virginia s teachers are still losing economic ground while schools continue weathering the state s schooling staffing shortages True historic capital means decisively closing salary gaps adequately funding schools and ensuring every classroom has a qualified coach 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 explained 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 backing 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 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 endorsement positions The governor s office did not right now respond to comment on the account However in the governor s budget recommendations in March Youngkin wrote that Virginia has raised educator pay by over the last three years The budget amendments now being considered by the governor contain million more for inhabitants schooling including 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 necessities of school divisions after a state examination group located local governments have been shouldering a disproportionate share of K- coaching costs compared to the state s contributions Lawmakers arranged for the state and localities to pay an even split of contributions in but they changed it in urging localities to start paying for K- fringe benefits According to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission the state s share was established at while localities paid What s next House Guidance Committee Vice Chair Shelly Simonds D-Newport News carried the encouragement cap bill and budget language to sponsorship non-instructional positions As a former tutor and school board member Simonds reported a core issue her rule 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 participant testing scores instead of recruiting and maintaining teachers Simonds stated a few solutions 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 advance and planning periods to collaborate with colleagues The only thing that has been really proven to improve schooling is highly qualified teachers Simonds reported Having a highly qualified mentor in every classroom is the way we move the needle on test scores for our children GET THE MORNING HEADLINES SUBSCRIBE figure tipContainer socContainer subscribeShortcodeContainer donateContainer display none key youtubeContainer position relative padding-bottom padding-top px height overflow hidden margin-bottom px youtubeContainer iframe video-container object video-container embed position absolute top left width crucial height margin px px central newsroomSidebar width max-width padding px border-top solid px black background-color d d d float right margin-left px snrsInfoboxSubContainer padding px border-top solid px black background-color d d d halfwidth float right width max-width indent Container margin-left em margin-bottom em border-left solid px black padding-left em media only screen and max-width px newsroomSidebar max-width width margin-left halfwidth float none width max-width Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom a nonprofit news configuration supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a c general charity Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions info virginiamercury com Source