RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia House of Delegates' budget, that is expected to be released on Sunday, offers a five percent raise for public school teachers.
Appropriations Committee Vice-Chairman Steve Landes announced Monday that the budget will give the raise to teachers without raising taxes on Virginians.
“I am proud of Chairman Jones and Vice-Chairman Landes for the hard work and dedication they have shown to ensuring our teachers know how much they are appreciated in the Commonwealth,” said Speaker Kirk Cox (R - Colonial Heights). “As a public school teacher for 30 years, I know how hard teachers work to educate Virginia’s future leaders. We must make it a priority to keep great teachers in the classroom and that starts with making sure our teachers a fairly compensated.”
On Monday, educators and supporters from around the state marched and rallied at the state Capitol to protest low wages and inadequate education spending.
Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has said Virginia's teacher pay is lagging the national average and it's getting harder to recruit and retain quality teachers. He's proposed a pay raise among other spending measures.
“Providing teacher pay raises does not have to come with a tax on the middle class attached to it,” said Delegate Chris Jones (R - Suffolk), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “Under conservative leadership in the House of Delegates, this will be the fourth teacher pay raise in the last six years.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.