Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 4, 1994 TAG: 9402040118
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Salem ranks at the top among school systems in the Roanoke and New River valleys in both beginning and maximum salaries for teachers with bachelor's degrees.
The starting pay for teachers in Salem is more than $3,000 higher than in some systems in the region.
Beginning teachers make $25,870 in Salem, while their counterparts in Montgomery County receive $22,260.
At the top of the pay scale, Salem's salary for teachers is $4,000 to $5,000 above some localities'. A veteran teacher in Salem can make $39,470, compared with $34,653 in Botetourt County.
Salem's ranking is no accident.
"We have put a premium on [teachers]. We make a conscious effort to be competitive statewide, not just in the Roanoke Valley," said Salem Superintendent Wayne Tripp.
"Programs and equipment are important, but we make salaries a priority," Tripp said Thursday. "Teachers can make the biggest difference."
Tripp said Salem has a strong commitment to education, reflected in its salaries for teachers.
Salem's average teacher salary ranks seventh of 133 localities in the state, according to the most recent available statistics.
In the 1992-93 school year, the average pay for Salem teachers was $35,123.
Roanoke County ranks 11th in the state, with an average salary of $33,104. Roanoke is 20th at $32,589.
Roanoke School Superintendent E. Wayne Harris recently focused attention on the salary issue by recommending a pay package designed to make the city more competitive.
Roanoke's salary for beginning teachers - $23,476 - is higher than most counties' in the region but ranks next to last among 11 urban systems and 65th of all systems statewide.
Harris has recommended a 4 percent increase in average pay in the next school year, but some teachers would receive a larger raise, depending on experience.
He has proposed a three-year plan to boost the pay for teachers with fewer than 10 years of experience. The objective is to keep the city competitive in average pay for teachers and to raise the salary scale for junior teachers by $400 a year to lessen the $1,200 difference with Roanoke County.
Radford ranks second in both beginning and maximum salaries for teachers in the region, trailing Salem by only $64 a year at the top of the scale - $39,406 to $39,470 for Salem. The gap at the beginning level is $954: $25,870 to $24,916.
School officials in the region said they generally have no problem recruiting teachers with their pay scales.
But they said salary can become an issue when recruiting special-education or science teachers.
"If we are vying with other localities for a particular type of teacher, we can be at a disadvantage sometimes," said Botetourt County Superintendent Clarence McClure.
The average salary for Botetourt teachers in 1992-93 was $28,490. It ranked 77th in average pay.
Botetourt has a 25-year salary scale for teachers to reach the top. As a result, teachers with 12 to 15 years' experience might make $5,000 less than do their counterparts at the top.
The same type of gap exists in other school systems with salary scales of 20 to 25 steps.
"Because it takes you a long time to reach the top, your pay doesn't increase so quickly," McClure said.
Although Pulaski County's beginning salary lags behind other localities', school officials said they attract plenty of teachers.
"Our location near Virginia Tech helps us," said Doris Dawson, director of personnel for Pulaski County schools.
Montgomery County officials echoed Dawson.
"Because of our location between Virginia Tech and Radford University, we have no problem in getting enough applicants," said John Martin, assistant superintendent for support services for Montgomery County.
Both Radford and Salem have a hefty backlog of applicants, too.
\ Teacher salary ranges\ In Roanoke and New River Valleys\ Starting salary Maximum salary\ Bedford Co. $23,692 $35,134\ Botetourt Co. $23,102 $34,653\ Franklin Co. $23,200 $35,900\ Montgomery Co. $22,260 $38,491\ Pulaski Co. $22,650 $37,916\ Radford $24,916 $39,406\ Roanoke $23,476 $36,572\ Roanoke Co. $24,700 $35,875\ Salem $25,870 $39,470\
by CNB