Just the Facts

As most of you know, the Governor did not include any money for teacher salary raises in the first year of the biennial budget. VEA petitioned the Governor to include money for the state share of a 5% raise for next year. However, the Governor included no money. The RCEA has proposed a salary scale adjustment equal to roughly 1% salary money along with a 4% across the board raise for next year then a 5% across the board raise for each of the following two school years.

VEA has compiled some facts and information on salaries for you to consider and to use in discussing salaries with your non-teaching friends and legislators. I've added a few comments relating to our locality. My comments are red.

Just the Facts

• Virginia teachers in 2006-07 earned $44,727—far below the national average salary of $50,816. Virginia teacher pay in 2006-07 ranked 31^st , down from 28^th in 2005-06. While we don't have a precise teacher salary average for RCPS, you can rest assured it is significantly less that the state average. I would estimate that the average teacher salary in Roanoke County is about $10,000+ less than the national average.

• The gap between Virginia teacher salaries and the national average has almost doubled from about $3,111 in 2002-03 to $6,089 in 2006-07. Roanoke County teacher salaries are generally between third and fourth in the area. At some steps on the scale, our salaries ranked as low as sixth out of eight school division in the area. Salem, Botetourt, Franklin County, Roanoke City, and in some cases Craig County pay more than Roanoke County at different steps along the scale.
  

Step			Current RCS Salary Schedule 2007-2008	Rank
0			34,500	3rd
5			36,717	3rd
10			38,292	4th
15			41,867	5th
20			45,000	6th
25			52,389	1st
30			53,285	4th
35			54,404	3rd

• Virginia’s rank on teacher pay is falling among Southern states and the nation as a whole. Among the 16 states comprising the Southern Regional Education Board, Virginia teacher salaries ranked 7^th, behind Maryland ($56,927), Delaware ($54,680), Georgia ($49,905), North Carolina ($46,410), Florida ($45,308), and Texas ($44,897). As recently as 2004, Virginia ranked 4^th among SREB states.

• The Virginia Education Association is calling for a 5% increase in each of the next two years to move the Virginia average teacher salary closer to the national average

• In constant (inflation-adjusted) dollars, Virginia teacher salaries actually declined 2 percent from 1995-96 to 2005-06. Nationally, salaries gained 1.5 percent over that time. Inflation for the Virginia region has been at or above 3.5% since 2004, and most steps on the RCPS teacher scale (other than from steps 8-14 and 24-32) have lost purchasing power over the last seven year ranging between about 3 and 14% .
  

2005	3.6
2006	3.4
2007	3.5 est Inflation

• The proposed state budget includes no funds to help school divisions increase salaries for next year (2008-09). It does include funds to support a 3.5% increase for teachers and a 3% for certain school support professionals in the second year, 2009-10.

Be sure to visit the VEA website to become a Cyber Lobbyist.

Remember to sign the VEA petition and to write your local legislators. Depending on exactly where you live in the area, you may be represented by delegates Morgan Griffith, William Fralin, or Onzlee Ware. On the state senate side, Senators John Edwards and Ralph Smith represent people in the immediate Roanoke Valley.