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

From last year to now Virginia raised facilitator 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 account published by the National Instruction Association The commonwealth dropped by one spot to th paying teachers an average of an increase from a year ago Virginia s average trainer pay is below the national average of the NEA description states Mentoring leaders and lawmakers in the commonwealth noted inflation and investments are a few of the factors contributing to mixed results in the national salary summary Clearly the overview shows that we have made good improvement in contemporary years and we have a long way to go stated House Learning Committee Chair Sam Rasoul D-Roanoke Rasoul admitted that the commonwealth is thousands of dollars below the national trainer 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 content shows gains have been made in Virginia pre-kindergarten to higher tuition teachers are still not making enough to assistance themselves after being adjusted for inflation According to VEA the average residents school tutor salary increased by from the previous year but when adjusted for inflation teachers made only more While it might look like teachers are getting sponsorship they are in fact losing money which has a direct impact on aspirant learning VEA stated While recognizing modern gains VEA president Carol Bauer explained Virginia s teachers are still losing economic ground while schools continue weathering the state s schooling staffing shortages True historic funding 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 announced 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 advocacy 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 aid positions The governor s office did not instantly respond to comment on the record However in the governor s budget recommendations in March Youngkin wrote that Virginia has raised guide pay by over the last three years The budget amendments now being considered by the governor contain million more for constituents development 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 requirements of school divisions after a state evaluation group revealed local governments have been shouldering a disproportionate share of K- schooling 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 Learning Committee Vice Chair Shelly Simonds D-Newport News carried the promotion cap bill and budget language to patronage non-instructional positions As a former facilitator and school board member Simonds reported a core issue her measure 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 candidate testing scores instead of recruiting and maintaining teachers Simonds revealed certain strategies 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 progress and planning periods to collaborate with colleagues The only thing that has been really proven to improve learning is highly qualified teachers Simonds revealed Having a highly qualified lecturer 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 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