Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 2, 1990 TAG: 9005020165
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The average salary of classroom teachers rose to $31,304 for the 1989-90 school year, according to National Education Association figures taken from "Estimates of School Statistics, 1989-90." That is 5.9 percent higher in current dollars than the previous year's revised figure of $29,547.
Virginia was ranked 18th with an average estimated salary for all teachers of $30,926.
Dave Johnson, executive director of the Virginia Education Association, said this year's amount may not be accurate.
He said the figures are based on estimates supplied by state departments of education before the actual salaries are reported from local school districts.
"Virginia has always estimated the increase to be greater than it turned out to be," Johnson said. "I don't think we've moved up much."
Jim Foudriat, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education, said the estimate already has been reduced and that it should be in line with the actual figure that will be ready by September.
"We have already reduced that figure approximately 1 percent because there is a historical difference between the budget figures and the actual data," he said.
He said teacher salaries increased about 8.5 percent across the state this school year. In the 1988-89 school year, the state average lagged $853 behind the national figure, he said, while this year the state is $378 behind.
In the 1982-83 school year, the average teacher salary in Virginia was $18,535, Foudriat said.
"You can make a living being a teacher and that's something that many people find very appealing because it was not always true," he said.
The General Assembly approved sizable teacher raises in the 1980s, but held the increase to 5 percent in the 1990-92 budget because of the state's tight finances.
by CNB