ROANOKE, Va. – Gov. Ralph Northam stopped in Roanoke to thank teachers and offer them a little hope for more pay as part of his farewell tour.
Raising his hand in the air with first graders, Northam visited Westside Elementary School to push for teacher pay raises.
Northam wants legislators to carve out funds to give teachers a 10% raise in the new two-year state budget.
“I mean, that’s the least we can do,” Northam said. “They are responsible for the future.”
In the past four years, teachers’ salaries increased about 10%, but Northam said this new proposal would put teachers over the edge.
The proposal aims to increase compensation five percent a year for a cumulative increase of 10.25%.
Matched local funds will be needed to help teachers attain pay above the national average.
However, it could cause some strain for low-income districts.
Northam said American Rescue Plan and federal funds are available to help localities meet the goal.
The funds would come from the more than $1.3 billion of federal CARES Act dollars that were allocated to Virginia localities in 2020, along with nearly $3 billion in federal American Rescue Plan funds for counties and cities in Virginia earlier this year.
Roanoke City Public Schools Superintendent Verletta White said a competitive salary could be key to keeping their effective teachers.
“Support is the number one reason why teachers stay,” she said. “And that support comes in many forms. It comes in the form of administrative support, curricular support but also in the form of compensation.”
The proposal will be submitted for the General Assembly to review in January.