BREAKING: Education Patrons Respond to Governor’s Veto of Teacher Pay Raises
May 21, 2024
The Governor took action on the remaining bills last week, including vetoing HB187/SB104 – which would have brought teacher salaries up to the national average. According to the Virginia Education Association, Virginia remains $5,000 behind which can be the difference between a teacher choosing to pursue teaching or a different career altogether. He suggested that the included 3% raises for state employees in the budget would be enough to bring the salaries up to that threshold, but evidence proves he is wrong. It is critical that we continue to stand with our educators and make Virginia a state where they want to build their careers.
“This 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. Instead, he vetoed it and made it clear where he stands on public education,” said Delegate Nadarius Clark. “Schools are the core of our communities. When the Governor lets our teachers down, when he doesn’t value them, he is telling the communities they serve and their students that they don’t matter either.”
“Public education is the cornerstone of our society. The anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education was last week. The inequities that case tried to address seventy years ago still persist in the community I represent and throughout Virginia,” said Senator L. Louise Lucas. “Governor Youngkin doesn’t care about public education and is determined to hold our students back. This is just a small part of his broader agenda to disenfranchise Virginians, and we will not stand for it!”
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