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Virginia Beach Education Association urges higher starting teacher pay as neighboring Norfolk raises salaries
Summary
The local teachers' union president urged the board to use projected state funding to address step inequities and raise starting teacher pay after Norfolk increased its starting salary to above $60,000; she said Virginia Beach starting pay remains more than $4,000 below Norfolk's.
Heather Sipe, president of the Virginia Beach Education Association, addressed the school board on March 20 about teacher pay. She said Norfolk Public Schools recently raised its starting teacher salary to just over $60,000 and urged Virginia Beach to use projected state funding to address step inequities on the unified pay scale for steps 0 to 14.
Sipe said the division's recommended minimum for instructional staff totals 4.5% when step is factored in, with an alternative recommendation totaling 5%, but that even with these increases Virginia Beach starting pay would be roughly $4,000 below Norfolk. She contrasted average rents (citing $1,300 for a one-bedroom in Norfolk versus $1,500 in Virginia Beach) to illustrate affordability challenges.
Sipe said when cost-of-living adjustments and inflation are factored in, the average Virginia Beach teacher salary is about $200 below where it stood in 2015, and that rising healthcare costs and workload increases make retention difficult. She urged the board to prioritize compensation to attract and retain teachers and offered to discuss potential strategies to reduce health-care related costs.
