NORFOLK, Va. — Some Hampton Roads school divisions are giving teachers their largest raises in years, as school leaders finalize and approve their budgets for the 2021-2022 school year.
Most starting teachers throughout the region will now make at least $47,000.
After a hectic year for teachers with both virtual and in-person classes and new COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions, some teachers are now preparing for summer school, to fill gaps in education brought on by the pandemic.
“If someone would’ve told me this is what this school year was going to look like, I probably would’ve laughed and said, 'No way,'" said Ashlyn Hadley, a teacher in Virginia Beach. “We are giving everything we’ve got into our classroom.”
Norfolk Public Schools approved its budget of $468.41 million Wednesday night, including a 6.1% pay raise for teachers. Superintendent Dr. Sharon Byrdsong said the raises are well-deserved and the "very respectable salary increases acknowledge their hard work and also lay the groundwork for future expectations."
Here's what pay raises for teachers look like in the seven cities' public school districts for SY21-22. Some budgets are approved, and some are proposed by superintendents and staff and at various stages of approval.
- Norfolk Public Schools - 6.1% raises for teachers
- Chesapeake Public Schools - 5.19% average raise for teachers
- Virginia Beach City Public Schools - 5% for all employees
- Hampton City Schools - 5% raises for all employees
- Portsmouth Public Schools - 4% raises for all employees
- Suffolk Public Schools - 3.83% to 4.58% for teachers, based on experience
- Newport News Public Schools - 3% raises for all employees
The percentage of salary raises listed above can vary based on positions and roles, such as instructional, school support staff and administration.
For some school divisions, these raises are significant and larger than usual. Hampton City Schools, for example, has typically provided 2% or 3% pay raises to teachers each year since 2016. It's providing a 5% increase this year.
New state funding and federal relief funds helped school leaders increase their budgets, including Portsmouth Public Schools -- which has a school board meeting and roll call vote set on the final school operating budget Thursday night.
What do these percentage raises mean for teacher salaries? Here's the average starting salary for new teachers, by district, based on SY21-22 budget documents (teacher salaries typically increase slightly with each year of experience):
- Hampton City Schools - $49,000 average starting salary
- Portsmouth Public Schools - $48,615 average starting salary
- Norfolk Public Schools - $47,200 average starting salary
- Newport News Public Schools - $47,200 average starting salary
- Chesapeake Public Schools - $47,150 average starting salary
- Suffolk Public Schools - $45,000 average starting salary
The updated starting salary rate for a teacher in Virginia Beach City Public Schools was not immediately available as of Thursday -- some of these numbers could change based on budget finalizations for SY21-22.
Plus, some school divisions are using millions of dollars from federal relief funds to increase teacher pay scales – which helps teachers with more experience make more money. With its approved SY21-22 budget, Hampton City Schools used $3.86 million to increase its salary scales.
In a statement after the approval of the Norfolk Public Schools budget, Dr. Byrdsong said teachers will face the fallout from pandemic learning gaps next year.
"Undoubtedly, in the new school year we will be addressing new challenges -- ones associated with learning loss and the negative impact of the pandemic on the social-emotional wellness of children," Byrdsong said.
More information on the budgets of the school divisions listed in this article can be found here:
- Chesapeake Public Schools budget information
- Hampton City Schools budget information
- Newport News Public Schools budget information
- Norfolk Public Schools budget information
- Portsmouth Public Schools budget information
- Suffolk Public Schools budget information
- Virginia Beach City Public Schools budget information