Board delays vote on new teacher salary scale after questions over cost and equity

At the May 20 meeting, central office staff presented a proposed teacher salary scale for 2025–26 that shifts larger raises to more experienced teachers and seeks to close local pay gaps with the Virginia average.

The presenter said the plan is not an across-the-board percentage but a strategic scale: "At 5 years experience, there's a 3.4% raise. But at 20 years experience, there's an 8.9% raise...the highest portion is the folks that have 30 years experience. That's a 13.5% raise," she said. The administration said the average raise under the proposal would be about 8.7% and estimated the cost at "just over $2,100,000," figures the presenter said were included in the budget presentation earlier this year.

Board members asked for a side-by-side of last year's scale and the proposed scale. Several members said they needed more time to absorb the detail before issuing contracts. One board member moved to postpone the item to the next meeting so members could receive the prior and proposed scales by email. After discussion and roll-call confusions on the tally, the board ultimately postponed consideration of the teacher salary scale to the next meeting.

Administrators said they need an approved scale to begin issuing teacher contracts; they noted that offering the higher proposed salaries now would help in recruiting teachers who have 20 or more years of experience. No final salary scale was approved at the May 20 meeting; the item will return for a vote with supplemental materials.