RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Should Virginia’s teachers receive a bigger pay raise than the one they are currently set to receive next year?
“I think we are in a good spot,” Governor Glenn Youngkin told 8News on Wednesday.
Currently, Virginia’s teachers are slated to receive a 3% pay raise next year, on top of the 3% raise they receive this year.
On Wednesday, Youngkin unveiled his proposed budget amendments but didn’t include an additional raise on top of that 3% for next year.
The governor’s office says that’s because, after reviewing data, including a January estimate from the Virginia Department of Education showing that Virginia’s teachers would make only about $1,250 less than the national average during the 2023-24 school year, they’re confident that the two 3% raises currently in the state’s two-year budget, will keep Virginia competitive nationally.
“That has been the goal is to bring Virginia’s teachers up and through the national average, and I think we are meeting that goal,” Youngkin said.