Stafford teachers on track for a pay raise: “How five percent would significantly change their lives”

STAFFORD — County teachers on are on tap for a  five percent raise in this year’s budget instead of the two percent originally planned.

Superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner unveiled his planned budget for FY 2020 that would begin on July 1. The requested budget will be around $328.5 million which is a 13 percent increase from the FY 2018 budget.

All school staff will see a five-percent raise while office and building administrators will receive a three-percent raise if his budget is approved.

The Stafford Education Association had originally asked Kizner for a five percent raise in November during a closed session meeting with the School Board.

“We have a lot of educators who are talking about how five percent would significantly change their lives,” SEA President Christian Peabody wrote in an email to Potomac Local. “They [teachers] are empowering each other and gradually becoming more vocal about speaking out to fight for their worth and their division.”

In Kizner’s budget, the expectation is that county schools will be able to “attract and retain the workforce and promote a positive working and learning experience for all involved.”

“This is a journey we have to collectively think of ways to make this a place people don’t want to leave,” Kizner said during his presentation to the School Board.

The total increase in staff salaries with the five percent raise will turn out to be $38.8 million. Kizner also plans to bump school nurses up to the planned teacher pay scale. He also plans to include referral bonuses for staff and tuition assistance for teachers who work to achieve masters degrees while working for the county.

“We, as a collective group, would like to try to remove any barriers from teachers coming to Stafford,” Kizner said.

The proposed budget also includes the addition of school counselors so that students can get more career, emotional, and mental health support from school staff. The ultimate goal is to bring down the ratio of counselors to one counselor to every 250, which is what the Virginia School Counselor Association recommends.

Kizner also requested that the school division to hire 27 more full-time teachers for the 2019-2020 school year.

In December, Gov. Ralph Northam proposed a five percent increase for all teachers in the state. Northam’s proposal is contingent on a funding match from local school districts would take effect on July 1, 2019. If the proposal were approved, it would be the state’s largest single-year raise in 15 years.

House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox (R-66) announced his plan to include the five percent teacher raise in the GOP’s budget that will be presented later this week. The increase in teacher pay won’t increase taxes in either budget.

Many teachers and activists took to the streets in front of the State Capitol for the Red for Education rally for an increase in state funding for public schools.

“I think our teachers deserve better raises than what they’ve gotten in the past,” Kizner said as he wrapped his presentation up.

The School Board is expected to approve the budget on April 30, 2019.