Letter to the Editor: Charles City leaders need to support pay increases for school employees

When my family moved to Charles City in 2016, I began attending school board meetings and the board of supervisors’ meetings regularly. A few years ago, the schools looked into partnering with a private company to increase energy efficiency and get much needed upgrades to the school buildings at a savings to the county. The solution looked to be win-win. Maintenance costs would go down and surplus funds could be reallocated to better compensation.

With planned upgrades and savings to the schools’ maintenance, there was a chance to more fairly compensate teachers. Our teachers make $11,000 less than the state-wide average. A teacher in Virginia makes $60,265; Charles City teachers earn $48,735.

But in true “Charlie Brown and Lucy-style football” with the football representing increased salaries, schools moved forward to kick and the football was yanked away. The Board of Supervisors suggest a meager one percent raise for teachers below inflation. This will result in teachers leaving in search of fairly compensated positions.

If our neighbors are concerned about how the county will grow and attract new families, schools play a key role. Families look at school ratings and they buy homes based on school districts.

Our schools will only improve as much as we attract and retain quality teachers. If we continue shortchanging the staff of the schools, we are not only keeping the football back from our team members so they can’t score, we’re at risk of forfeiting the game all together.

Please encourage your representative to reconsider the budget for the coming school year. Ask them to reallocate the available funds to keep our teachers here and attract new talent. This will pay off now and in the future as we attract more families.

Elizabeth Weber Edwards
Charles City