New report finds Virginia teacher pay ranks 50th in country

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - A new report from Business.org says Virginia ranks at the bottom when it comes to teacher pay.

Albemarle County Public Schools Spokesperson Phil Giaramita says the commonwealth is usually ranked in the 30s and 40s.

“Teacher pay has been an issue in the state for many years,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

Business.org says teachers in Virginia earn an average of $53,000, compared to people with other occupations who earn an average of $60,160.

“I think we are beginning to see the impact of teacher shortages, and I think you can draw a direct line from teacher shortages to teacher pay,” Giaramita said.

He says ACPS is doing what it can to attract new teachers and keep veteran teachers in the classroom, increasing pay by 5.2%.

“The good news for Albemarle County is we’re going to hire about 200 teachers this year,” Giaramita said.

He says talks need to happen - and are happening - among state legislators to make sure teachers don’t become scarce.

“The General Assembly lately, the last couple of years, in turn, talked a lot about the need to increase teacher pay,” Giaramita said. “I think most people would agree teachers will never get paid what they’re worth, what their value is, because the system just doesn’t allow for that, but at least if we can make a few steps in the right direction, that’s a positive.”