Proposed pay raise would still leave the average Virginia teacher salary below national average

Teachers earning average pay in Virginia will get nearly $1,500 closer to earning the national average teacher salary under Gov. Ralph Northam’s budget proposal.

Northam has proposed using $145 million for a 3% teacher pay raise. It’s part of a $1.2 billion package of K-12 education initiatives the governor is asking lawmakers to consider in the upcoming General Assembly session.

The average Virginia teacher salary is $49,457 a year. Northam’s proposed raise will put the average teacher at making just under $51,000 a year.

It’s the second consecutive year Northam has proposed a teacher pay raise, but it still leaves the average Virginia teacher making thousands less than the national average used by the National Education Association, about $59,000 a year.

“Governor Northam’s 3% proposal is a step forward, but we still have a long way to go to pay our educators what they deserve,” Virginia Education Association President Jim Livingston said in a statement. “Our elected leaders must make this a priority.” 

Northam’s proposal requires a local match, which could pose problems for low-income districts that don’t have the funds for their portion of the raises. But Northam also included increased at-risk add-on money, a funding stream that could be used for teacher salaries.

The percentage raise means teachers in some parts of the state will still be making well above the state average and others in rural areas will still fall well below. 

In Arlington, one of the highest-paying school districts, teachers make an average of $78,000 a year, meaning those teachers will take home about $2,300 more a year.

But in other parts of the state, like Southside and Southwest Virginia, teachers’ average pay hovers between $30,000 and $40,000. Those teachers will get about $1,000 more a year — still at or below $40,000 a year, less than the state average.