Revenue and Teacher Pay Take Center Stage in First Week of Session

January 15, 2021

Some may say this week at the General Assembly was more like an episode of the Wild, Wild, West. In the new world of digital glitches, goofs, and gotchas, the General Assembly is off to a rocky start in the quest to conquer the digital divide. This leads me to wonder if our own state governance body is having a rough time with this online digital debacle. I can’t help but imagine how our school divisions have to deal with the issue, especially broadband access.

On a different note, total General Fund revenues increased by 15.1 percent in December. On a year-to-date basis, total revenues increased 7.8 percent, ahead of the annual forecast of 1.2 percent growth. So, now is an excellent time to contact your lawmaker and urge them to fully implement and fund the revised Standards of Quality, as adopted by the Virginia Board of Education.

SIGN THE VEA PETITION to support Senate Bill 1257 introduced by Sen. Jennifer McClellan and House Bill 1929 introduced by Delegate Lashrecse Aird.

The House Education Pre-K-12 Subcommittee met at 7 am Friday to discuss bills ranging from student civil and political activity to a major teacher pay proposal. VEA represented well at the meeting. Thank you to VEA leaders Carol Bauer, Kathy Beery, and Brian Teuke for their testimony on HB 1915, introduced by Delegate Martha Mugler. This bill requires state funding to be provided according to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries, effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 school year. Here is the rundown of the action taken on committee bills Friday.

Bill(s)	Patron
HB1742 VEA: OPPOSED	Webert	In-person instruction; education vouchers, etc. HB 1742 failed to pass the committee by a vote of 3-5.
HB1770 VEA: OPPOSED	Freitas	Public education; student education accounts. HB 1770 failed to pass the committee by a vote of 2-6.
HB1776 VEA: SUPPORTED	Ward	Education, Board of; temporary extension of certain teachers’ licenses. HB 1776 was reported favorably by a vote of 8-0 and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
HB1790 VEA: SUPPORTED	McNamara	Public schools; severe weather conditions and other emergency situations. HB 1790 was reported favorably by a vote of 8-0.
HB1798 VEA: NO POSITION	Tyler	Brunswick County school board; appointed school board salaries. HB 1798 was reported favorably by a vote of 8-0.
HB1823 VEA: SUPPORTED	Askew	Public schools, child day programs, and certain other programs; carbon monoxide detectors required. HB 1823 was reported favorably by a vote of 7-1.
HB1904 VEA: SUPPORTED	Jenkins	Teachers and other licensed school board employees; cultural competency. HB 1904 was reported favorably by a vote of 5-2.
HB1915 VEA: SUPPORTED	Mugler	Teachers; required to be compensated at or above national average. HB 1915 was reported favorably by a vote of 5-2 and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
HB1918 VEA: SUPPORTED	Mugler	Student driver safety; adopts measures aimed at improving safety. This bill was passed over for consideration and will appear on the next scheduled committee calendar
HB1940 VEA: SUPPORTED	Rasoul	Students; guidelines on excused student absences, civic or political engagement. This bill was reported favorably by a vote of 8-0

Bill(s)

Patron

HB1742

VEA: OPPOSED

Webert

In-person instruction; education vouchers, etc.

HB 1742 failed to pass the committee by a vote of 3-5.

HB1770

VEA: OPPOSED

Freitas

Public education; student education accounts.

HB 1770 failed to pass the committee by a vote of 2-6.