Governor Ralph Northam says teachers have endured numerous challenges during the pandemic. And so he’ll write a big raise into the budget he’ll submit to the General Assembly shortly before he leaves office.
At Roanoke’s Westside Elementary School Monday, Governor Ralph Northam asked a classroom of first graders if they thought their teachers deserved a raise. "You all think that’s a good idea?" The students responded with an enthusiastic "Yeah" and clapped.
If approved by legislators, the ten percent raise would be spread across two years. And Northam said it would finally bring Virginia teacher salaries above the national average. "In one of the most affluent states in the most affluent country in the world, our teachers deserve to get over the national average," Northam told reporters.
The raise requires local matching funds. Northam said that shouldn’t be a problem because of the amount of pandemic relief money that’s flowed into local governments. "I think working together I think we can have the resources to pay our teachers," he said.
Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin, who takes office on January 15th, has promised the biggest education budget in state history and investing in teachers. But his transition team didn’t specifically comment on Northam’s proposal.
Northam also signaled the commonwealth is in position to carry out one of his successor’s campaign pitches—eliminating the sales tax on groceries.
Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin wants Northam to write that tax cut and others into the budget Northam will submit just before leaving office.
Northam said he’s considered eliminating the grocery tax before. "The reason we haven’t been able to do that is because we didn’t have the revenue and we can now, so that’s something that we’ll talk about."
Northam said he would recommend a comprehensive study and adjustment to all of Virginia’s tax laws, rather than a piecemeal approach.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
