HAMPTON SCHOOLS PROPOSE 5% PAY RAISE
Largest salary hike for district will see teachers, employees benefit from new state funding
HAMPTON — Teachers and other school employees in Hampton would get 5% raises next school year under a budget presented Wednesday night to the School Board.
It’d be the largest raise for the district in years. The district has given steady 2-3% raises over the last few years, but new state funding means many boards in Virginia are weighing 5% raises.
“Given these challenging times, I firmly believe that it’s important that we not lose our way,” said Superintendent Jeffery Smith. “This budget reaffirms and demonstrates to each member of the Hampton City Schools community that we remain committed to our core business of teaching and learning.”
School officials have worried for months about the effect of the pandemic on school budgets. Hampton froze a 2% raise planned for this year in May after warnings that state funding could take a hit.
But the costs to school districts so far have been largely offset by state and federal funds. Hampton restored the 2% raise in February along with a $750 bonus.
Brittany Dortch, the district’s chief financial officer, said next year’s budget includes over $29 million more in federal funds, most of it carried over relief funds the district got this year. The district plans to use the funds next year for programs to mitigate learning losses, cleaning supplies and roof and HVAC upgrades to improve ventilation.
The budget includes an expected $1.6 million from the state to continue offsetting declines in enrollment, which is the backbone of the state’s funding formula. Across the state, public school enrollment dropped over 44,000 as parents chose to delay enrolling kindergartners or chose homeschooling or private schools. The district saw its enrollment drop over 200 students in the last year.
The General Assembly’s budget, which it approved last weekend and is on its way to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk, includes a 5% raise for state employees and statefunded school district employees.
So far, most districts are choosing to chip in the matching funds required to get the full raises. Virginia Beach and Norfolk’s proposed budgets both include
roughly 5% raises for staff.
Hampton’s budget includes some additional pay adjustments. On top of the $7.3 million for the 5% raise, it includes $1.5 million for adjustments to teacher pay scales, another initiative frozen last year.
The budget raises the district’s minimum wage to $11 per hour, anticipating the state’s new $11-per-hour minimum wage that takes effect on Jan. 1, 2022. Certain groups of employees will also see raises, including $2 per hour increases for bus drivers and transportation staff and a $1 raise for secretaries, security officers and school finance officers.
The proposal restores a handful of positions frozen out of last years budget, including two social workers and an additional school psychologist, and adds a few other positions. Those include five additional school counselors, three teachers and a restorative counselor.
There are some smaller line items new to the budget. It includes $75,000 for collective bargaining planning. State law allows localities to decide whether to permit employee unions to bargain starting May 1. According to a presentation given to the board last month, about 7% of all employees and 27% of teachers are dues-paying members of a union.
The budget also includes $150,000 for school renaming projects. The district announced it was investigating namesakes all of its schools this summer, but it has yet to make a public announcement about its next steps. John B. Cary Elementary School is named for a Confederate officer. The board is holding two in-person public budget hearings — March 10 and March 17 — at Jones Magnet Middle School at 6:30 p.m. It is set to vote on the proposal March 24, after which the budget goes to the city for approval.