FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – A new compensation study shows Franklin County teachers are getting paid thousands of dollars less than nearby districts.
In Oct. 2021, the division hired Evergreen Solutions to begin a compensation study.
At a joint meeting with the Franklin County Board of Supervisors Thursday, the district and the school board met to discuss the study’s findings.
Superintendent Bernice Cobbs was not surprised.
“We do comparisons every year internally and we knew that we were not competitive but what we also know is in order to be competitive … this compensation study became very important,” Cobbs said.
As the pay scale currently stands, a first-year teacher in Franklin County makes $40,000. A teacher at that level in Roanoke City makes $48,725. The second-lowest to Franklin County is Floyd County at $42,000.
School officials have acknowledged many staff members are leaving to make more money elsewhere. During the 2021-2022 school year, the district lost 210 teachers and staff. They have already lost 77 staff members this current school year.
“We can absolutely say because we interact with our teachers, they tell us I’m going to another school division because of the pay,” Cobbs said.
Now the district is looking for answers and they believe they have may have found one.
The division would move to a new pay scale with 20 steps. Most importantly, the starting salary for a teacher in Franklin County would be $45,000.
“I Do believe that we can become a competitive school division … absolutely,” Cobbs said.
There are still some details the district has to look into when it comes to implementing the pay. A lot of current teachers would be moving to some sort of different pay step than they are currently on.
The pay scale will be formally presented and voted on at the Franklin County School Board meeting on Jan. 9.