CHARLESTON – The demands of West Virginia’s teachers were made clear Monday morning, as chants of “It’s not enough,” echoed through the Capitol Rotunda.
The rally, by members of the West Virginia Education Association, is meant to pressure lawmakers into giving teachers higher salaries. Gov. Manchin’s proposal of three percent, WVEA President Charlie Delauder, isn’t enough.
“Just a year ago, we met here to talk about teacher’s salary,” Delauder said to a crowd of about 300. “It’s deja vu all over again.”
He urged teachers to talk to their legislators, and many heeded that advice after the House and Senate sessions concluded for the day.
The House Education Committee meets at 1 p.m., but before it started, Manchin released a statement that teacher pay raises would equal about 5 1/2 percent. That includes the original three percent, $400 across the board to classrooms teachers (equal to about 1 percent) and local share money that would create another 1 1/2 percent for salary increases for teachers.
“Put together, our proposed pay package increase is a significant average of 5 1/2 percent,” Manchin stated through a press release. “So our classroom teachers would see a fair and substantial increase in their base pay.”
West Virginia teachers say they’re among the worst paid in the country, and hope a show of numbers can persuade lawmakers to take their plight seriously.
Several hundred West Virginia Education Association members and their supporters rallied Monday at the state Capitol.
With lawmakers in session on Martin Luther King Day, the group is pushing its plan to increase salaries by $10,000. That would bring starting teachers’ salaries to $35,000, and take the state closer to national averages.
DeLauder also called for relief for teachers stranded in a 401(k)-style retirement program that suffers from meager benefits. A recent lawsuit derailed a plan to merge that program into the state’s tradition teachers’ pension fund.
WVEA is the statewide arm of the National Education Association, which released figures last year ranking West Virginia 48th in pay for the 2006-07 school year. That’s down from 47th the previous year.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Sandy Gay, who teaches second grade at Princeton Primary School. “Our young teachers, and we have some good ones, they come out of college with debts from student loans. How can they stay in West Virginia?”
WVEA has joined with the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia to press Manchin and lawmakers to increase is proposal. AFT-WV and school service personnel massed at the Capitol on Jan. 9, the evening of Manchin’s State of the State address, to promote $10,000 across-the-board salary increases spread over three years.
AFT-TV wants a $5,000 salary increase the first year, with $2,500 a year for the subsequent two years.
Last year, the Legislature approved a 3.5 percent pay raise for teachers raising the state’s minimum salary for starting teachers to $25,832, up from $25,019. Going beyond what Manchin had proposed, the 2007 measure followed massive Capitol rallies by teacher groups, as well as a sick-out by educators in at least one county.
A cold snap likely tamped down the showing at Monday’s rally, which was moved from the Capitol’s south steps to its Rotunda because of the weather. WVEA had expected a larger turnout.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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