Senators are looking at a pay bump for teachers who live in particularly expensive areas, but there are a couple of obstacles.
One could be the politics of state lawmakers who live in areas where the economy is less active and cost of living is less.
The other is the $400 million budget gap identified by the Morrisey administration prior to the start of the regular legislative session.
A cost estimate prepared by the state Department of Education suggests the cost could go beyond $180 million, although that could change as the bill is assessed or adapts during the legislative process.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey in his inaugural address and his State of the State speech spoke of “the importance of paying teachers more competitively with the other states that we touch. I think we can all agree that good teachers are at the heart of any educational attainment strategy.”
However, Senate Bill 506 is not specifically a bill introduced on the governor’s behalf.
The bill, with Senator Eric Tarr as its lead sponsor, aims to enhance teacher pay through a market pay supplement.
“Whether or not the Legislature adopts it, I think the concept is something that bears discussion — should we be looking at market pay in order to attract professionals into West Virginia, into state government positions that our citizens depend on,” said Tarr, R-Putnam.
The bill would establish a calculation based on median home prices in West Virginia and contiguous areas. The regional housing market would be compared to the median home price for West Virginia.
That calculation would determine a supplemental payment, distributed as a lump sum subject to income tax, and reported to the legislature, remaining separate from the minimum salary schedule.
The Senate Education Committee discussed the bill on Tuesday morning and advanced it for consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.
Tarr described his support for the bill in remarks before the committee.
“We have given, I think, five now consecutive statewide pay raises to every employee in state government. Those are fairly arbitrary as far as — we come in, pick a percentage, we bump it up and it goes irrespective of the market demand for a position in West Virginia. It raises everybody,” he said.
“And there are some positions within there that really would be above market for what’s necessary to retain those individuals and compensate them according to the type of work they do — as compared to if we’re needing teachers, if we’re needing engineers, if we’re needing accountants or whatever, that we are severely under market in other areas.”
He continued, “So it makes it very difficult to go in and staff these positions.”
In this case, Tarr said the aim is more strategic.
He said the attempt is to “see if we can get the way we pay our state employees more consistent with what the market requires to retain these employees and attract them into West Virginia because we’re needing it, and education, teachers, is one of the areas the cry has been across the state.”
Tarr acknowledged that in crafting the bill he was not certain what the cost estimate might be. But as a former Finance chairman, he was very aware of what across-the-board pay raises cost. He said this bill could be refined to determine a cost that might be more manageable under the state’s current financial situation.
Senator Craig Hart, who teaches at Tug Valley High School, said he is conflicted about the bill.
“I have very mixed feelings about this bill. I’m a teacher. I understand that it’s very difficult for a lot of teachers to make ends meet, and when you get into some of the areas, they’re just plumb more expensive to live in. Housing is a big issue,” said Hart, R-Mingo.
“Housing where I live is cheaper. My rent is $450 a month. I also think that the rich areas have more money, and that the counties may need to pick up some of that responsibility — and they have the ability to do that to pay their teachers more.”
In summary, Hart said, “my kneejerk reaction as a teacher is, ‘I like this bill. The state picks up the tab.'”
But he said “the richer counties have or should have properly budgeted the money to offset the pay for their teachers, whereas the poor are not helped out with this, and the poor just get poorer. So I have really mixed feelings.”