Several Henrico County theater educators used the school board’s public forum on June 12 to press for pay parity, clearer communication and predictable maintenance for school auditoriums. They said current stipend practices and facility upkeep place extra unpaid responsibilities on teachers.

The concerns came from Lisa Dyer, theater teacher at J.R. Tucker High School, and Tom Harris, drama teacher at Short Pump Middle School, who described long-standing pay and facilities issues and asked the division for clearer policies and more equitable Extra Duty/Extended Service (ESS) pay grades.

"I have not signed my extended responsibilities contract because doing so means I commit myself to $600 less than I than I got last year," Lisa Dyer said. She told the board that the new budget “does call for high school theater teachers to receive the same stipend as the head basketball coach, which is a really good start,” but she urged the division to pay a "head coach stipend for each show we direct." Dyer also said there is no countywide protocol for auditorium usage, repair or maintenance and that theater teachers often become the de facto technicians for sound and lighting problems.

Tom Harris urged the board to use existing advisory models to keep theater teachers consulted and to revise ESS pay grades to better match year-round responsibilities. "ESS pay grades should be more equitable and better reflect the time, effort, and complexity of each position," Harris said. He described mismatches between pay-grade days of service for athletics and dramatics and provided examples of ESS levels and dollar amounts he had tracked for his programs.

Both speakers listed recent facility work and ongoing needs: sound systems rewired, lighting systems reprogrammed, and light and sound boards replaced in some buildings. Harris said teachers repeatedly arrange temporary fixes "and rented or borrowed sound equipment to make the musical happen." Both urged a central office position or clearer chain of responsibility for theater facilities and communication.

The board did not debate or vote on the requests during the public forum. The meeting rules stated that the board will not respond to public forum speakers at that time but that a Henrico staff member will follow up with speakers. No formal direction to staff was recorded on the transcript during the forum.