Teachers and staff press Isle of Wight school board to act on compensation study; district presents final costs

The Isle of Wight County School Board heard a wave of public testimony calling on the district to use a newly completed compensation study to raise teacher pay and restore step increases.

Dozens of teachers, counselors and principals told the board during the meeting at Westside Elementary that low pay and understaffing are driving midyear departures and making recruitment difficult. ‘‘Teachers leave when the workload becomes unsustainable and the compensation no longer reflects the reality of the job,’’ said Dina Hubbell, a third‑grade teacher and recent district teacher of the year.

Consultants presented final figures for implementing the study. The initial teacher cost estimate was adjusted from about $4.2 million to $3.6 million after the team excluded education supplements that teachers already receive, the consultant said. A clinician pay scale change would add approximately $152,462 (about a 10.2% increase in that payroll group). Moving administrators and support staff toward a target market percentile was estimated at roughly $1.3 million (about a 7.96% payroll increase). The consultant noted that those totals do not include fringe‑benefit costs, which would raise the district’s full cost.

Board members and staff discussed implementation approaches and peer comparisons. A board member asked whether market comparisons had included private‑sector equivalents for positions such as CFO or IT administrator; the consultant said the analysis was strictly among other school divisions. The consultant recommended that, if phasing is necessary, the district phase equitably across groups rather than prioritizing one employee group over another.

Multiple speakers compared Isle of Wight’s starting pay to neighboring districts: several presenters said the current district starting salary is about $52,520 while nearby Suffolk has moved toward a $60,000 starting salary. Several teachers asked the board to ‘‘ask for the money’’ from the Board of Supervisors and not preclude tax or funding requests to cover the increases.

Superintendent and board members said the study will inform the superintendent’s recommended budget. ‘‘Rest assured that study is not going to be put on a shelf. We will be using that as we develop the budget,’’ an unidentified board member said during closing remarks.

Next steps: the superintendent said staff will use the study in budget development and the board will discuss funding strategies with the board of supervisors during the budget process.