Evening star., 1953-12-27
Teachers Pay
Raise Approval
Seen in Virginia
$18 Million Needed
For StunIey-Bocked
Two-Yeur Program
RN fha Assoeintad Rraaa

By the Assoeioted Press
RICHMOND. Va, Dec. 26.-
Teachers salaries: A lot has been
said about them in 1853. What
will be done about them in 1854?
It's a virtual certainty that
on the average-they will be in
creased.
The question is how much?
And how equitably?
Gov. -elect Thomas B. Stanley
has promised publicly that he
will back the salary schedule
asked by the State Department
of Education - 50, 400 beginning
minimum; $500 after eight
years. It will take $18 million
additional money in the next
two years to do the job.
Others Make Demands.
Those Pumping for this extra
money from the 1854 General
Assembly will have to compete
with other services which are
also aggressive in their demands
for money. These others, too,
have strong political backing and
there isn't enough money to go
around.
Taxes will not be raised. That's
o certainty.
Therefore. the present revenue
base will have to be stretched to
meet the budgets of education,
health. mental health, tubercu-
losis. welfare, hospitals, colleges,
penal institutions and so on.
Hardly a department. or bureau
has not asked for more money.
Teachers, in Virginia as
throughout the country. have
come long way in recent years.
Public school education gener-
ally has done especially well
under the benevolent admins
tration of Gov. Battle, with the
Battle fund.-" the SIS million
appropriated for school build
ings, possibly obscuring the sub
stantial increases in teachers
salaries.
Average Pay Raised.
In 1945-46 the average teach
er's salary in Virginia was $1,516.
Last year the average was $2,824.
But teachers spokesmen point
to the higher salaries paid today
to persons with equal training in
other fields of government.
And educators say teachers
salaries must be raised still more
If capable and qualified men and
women are to be recruited into
education careers. There remains
o serious scarcity Of teachers.
Now. as new administration
is about to take over, the gov-
ernor-elect is on record as IA
voring schedule Of teachers sal9
aries considerably higher than
the present :, schedule-though
one far short of the goals an
nounced by the powerful Vir-
ginia Education Association
which numbers some 10000
teachers among its members.
Pay Low in Is Counties.
In IS Virginia counties certi-
ficated teachers with long years
Of experience get a maximum of
less than the $4,000 approved by
the legislature as the minimum
for such experience, because of
lack of funds. In some the top
is $4,000.
Yet in some wealthy Virginia
communities, beginning teachers
make more than $4,000. In Ar
lington County beginners make
$1,000.
This gap between salaries in
poor areas and those in wealthy
communities is one of the things
that bothers the YEA. It strongly
urges a formula for distribution
of State education. funds that
will do two things: Cd Give
more to communities with less
taxable property, and (2) Give
more to those communities which
help themselves the most in re-
lation to their ability to pay.
The teachers and the YEA un-
doubtedly will be highly gratified
If Mr.. Stanley is able to get
through the legislature what he
has promised to support-the De-
partment of Education's budget
request that teachers salaries
begin at $2,400 and go to $500
in eight years.
But the education department
and the teachers want the
schedule in fact. not just ap-
proval in theory. They want all
certif1cated teachers with eight
years experience to get $500
beginning next fiscal year. For
some teachers, this would rep
resent a $1,000 increase.
The YEA has q more ambitious
program not likely to be at
tanned next year. It wants a
$4,000 minimum for beginners,
with $4.400 after eight years
increases of 5000 a year until
the top minimum is reached.