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Legislation that would have aligned Virginia teachers鈥� pay with the national average or higher by the 2027-28 school year won bipartisan support but was blocked from the state budget by Gov. Glenn Youngkin鈥檚聽聽last week.
The two-year budget, signed last week, includes $540 million to help pay for 3% salary increases for teachers and state employees in both years.
The governor said he supported the goal of 鈥渆nsuring that teachers and state-funded education support positions are funded competitively,鈥� but didn鈥檛 approve the bill to boost educators鈥� salaries to the national average because it relied heavily on what he viewed as flawed data from the聽, which represents educators across the country.
In his veto, the governor said the legislation does not 鈥渁ccurately reflect鈥� the state of teacher compensation in Virginia and that NEA鈥檚 methodology includes substitute teacher compensation and fails to account for supplemental salary expenditures in determining teacher compensation. He added that the legislation does not account for various scenarios, such as an economic downturn or state of emergency, that could impact teacher pay rates.
The measure also didn鈥檛 include Youngkin鈥檚 earlier recommendation to create an annual teacher compensation review.
鈥淐onsistent, annual reporting of accurate teacher compensation data is essential for lawmakers and the governor to make sound decisions,鈥� he said.
The governor further explained his veto by noting that since 2021, the state has invested $1.6 billion to grow teacher salaries by 23%.
Youngkin said that Virginia鈥榮 average teacher pay was already projected to hit the national average this fiscal year.
The Virginia Education Association argued that the governor鈥檚 administration is 鈥渕istakenly鈥� making comparisons between the estimated national teacher pay average in the National Education Association Rankings and Estimates report and the Virginia estimate in the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)聽.
鈥淭he estimates provided within these two reports are calculated using different data and methodologies and are not comparable,鈥� VEA said in a聽聽on Friday.
According to NEA鈥檚 recent聽, Virginia鈥檚 salary average is $65,058, which is below the national estimated average of $71,699.
Virginia, like other states, provides NEA data to compile state averages in their聽, removing non-instructional positions and allowing for an 鈥渁pples to apples comparison鈥� across all the states, according to VEA.
The Department of Education鈥檚 鈥淎nnual Salary Survey Report鈥� includes all salary expenditures, including supplemental pay, for classroom teachers, homebound teachers, guidance counselors, librarians, and instructional technology positions, VEA stated. NEA includes only classroom teachers, substitutes, and homebound teachers and excludes supplemental pay.
While lawmakers debated the actual national average during this year鈥檚 session, they agreed compensation must be improved for teachers, as vacancies have grown since the pandemic. Youngkin鈥檚 veto magnified some Democratic lawmakers鈥� concerns with Virginia鈥檚 educator shortage.
鈥淭his school year began with over 4,000 teacher vacancies across our commonwealth, and the governor is not interested in attracting or keeping teachers here. If he was, he would have signed my bill that would have ensured Virginia teachers are being paid at the national average,鈥� said Del. Nadarius Clark, D-Suffolk, one of the bill鈥檚 carriers, along with Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.
Clark added that the governor鈥檚 veto indicates where he stands on public education.
鈥淲hen the governor lets our teachers down, when he doesn鈥檛 value them, he is telling the communities they serve and their students that they don鈥檛 matter either,鈥� Clark said.
With Youngkin鈥檚 veto coming in the same week as the 70th anniversary of the landmark聽聽ruling 鈥� in which the Supreme Court of the United States mandated states desegregate public schools 鈥� Lucas said the inequities the case tried to address decades ago still persist in her community and throughout Virginia, which the governor鈥檚 rejection of the bill won鈥檛 help resolve.
鈥淕overnor Youngkin doesn鈥檛 care about public education and is determined to hold our students back,鈥� Lucas said. 鈥淭his is just a small part of his broader agenda to disenfranchise Virginians, and we will not stand for it.鈥�
