Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 12, 1994 TAG: 9412120030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Nationwide, the average salary for teachers was $35,723, according to "Rankings of the States," a new report by the National Education Association.
Virginia ranked 26th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia with an average salary of $33,063 for the 1993-94 school year.
"These salary numbers should dispel any notion that teacher pay is the driving force in higher spending levels for public education," said Keith Geiger, president.
He said the 25-year low in average pay increase can be attributed to three factors: tight budgets, lower inflation and the loss of higher-paid teachers due to early retirement.
Teachers in the Roanoke Valley have fared better than some of their counterparts in Virginia, but they still are below the national average. And teacher salaries in Roanoke have fallen below those in Salem and Roanoke County. Traditionally, Roanoke has paid salaries equal to or higher than neighboring school systems.
Gary Waldo, executive director of the Roanoke Education Association, said Roanoke also has dropped below Franklin and Montgomery counties in some categories.
"We've got a real problem with that," Waldo said. "Teachers in urban areas have more stress and are under more pressure and their salaries should reflect it.''
Roanoke's average salary for the past year was $33,722 - above the state average but $2,001 below the national average.
In Roanoke County, the average pay was $34,180.
Salem had higher salaries for teachers than Roanoke and Roanoke County did in all categories.
The average pay for a Salem teacher in the past year was $35,630, just $93 below the national average. Salem ranked eighth among the state's 135 school systems in average salaries and was in the top 10 in several categories for various years of service and degrees.
Roanoke Superintendent Wayne Harris said he wants to make the city's salaries more competitive in the Roanoke Valley, but it can't be done immediately because of budget restrictions.
Salaries for Roanoke's teachers were increased an average of 4.6 percent in the current school year. Harris said this was the first step in a three-year plan to upgrade salaries.
In Salem and Roanoke County, teachers received increases in pay and other benefits that provided the equivalent of a 4 percent salary boost.
Waldo said Roanoke's teachers want the School Board to make a commitment to increase salaries so they are more competitive.
The NEA report showed that public school enrollment increased 1.5 percent nationally in the past year for the ninth consecutive year.
Enrollment increased 1.3 percent in Roanoke and almost 1 percent in Salem and Roanoke County.
The NEA report disclosed that local taxes provided a larger share of school revenue in most states. Forty-seven percent of all elementary and secondary expenditures came from local taxes - usually property taxes.
The percentage of men employed as public school teachers has declined in the past decade, the NEA report said. Ten years ago, men made up 32 percent of the teaching force. By 1993-94, that had declined to 27 percent.
"The teaching profession needs to be a more attractive field to ensure that our students are taught by a diverse staff," said Geiger, a high school math teacher on leave to serve as NEA president.
"We're sending students the wrong message about teaching when they see men leave the profession and when the number of minority teachers is also declining," he said.
He said there is a special need for male teachers in elementary schools and female teachers in math and science.
by CNB