Proposed Teacher Pay Raises Would Cost West Virginia $25.6M Annually

February 20, 2023

Mountaineer News

WV Education

CHARLESTON, WV - A new West Virginia bill headed to Senate committee would give pay raises to public school teachers with less than eight years of experience at a cost of nearly $25.6 million.

Senate Bill 204 was introduced in mid-January and was sent to the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 7.

It’s sponsored by Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, and is expected to impact 7,825 teachers in the state. The pay raises are expected to cost $24 million annually with a $1.6 million annual cost to the state’s retirement system.

Starting teachers would receive a $4,392 jump in the pay scale, second-year teachers would see a $3,874 jump and third-year teachers would get a $3,455 increase.

The pay scale would then jump $2,074, then $1,555, then $1,038 and $518 in years four through seven.

“Note that county boards of education will incur additional costs for personnel employed in excess of funded, personnel employed in positions not eligible for state aid funding, personnel employed using other funding sources such as state or federal grants, and extended employment terms for professional personnel,” the bill’s fiscal note reads. “Such county-level costs are not included in the above estimates.”

The state’s Consolidated Public Retirement Board estimated the bill will cost $1.6 million in annual contributions to pay for a total $7.5 million in increased liabilities that are not funded by the bill.