Better Pay for Teachers:
Recruit Great Teachers and Keep Them

Great schools depend on great teachers. And if we want great teachers in Lynchburg, we have to pay them competitively and give them reasons to stay.

It's really that simple.

Teachers have one of the most important jobs in our community. They spend every day helping our kids learn, grow, solve problems, and prepare for their futures. We shouldn't expect to recruit and keep talented teachers if they can earn significantly more somewhere else.

But pay isn't the only thing that matters.

New teachers need good mentors. Teachers need opportunities to grow professionally. We should consider retention bonuses in schools where keeping experienced teachers is especially difficult. And because many teachers are working parents themselves, affordable childcare or pubic early childhood education can make a real difference.

We also need to let teachers teach. That means looking for ways to cut unnecessary paperwork and non-teaching duties, making sure schools have enough support staff, and giving teachers a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their classrooms.

City Council doesn't run Lynchburg City Schools, and it doesn't make every decision about teacher salaries. But Council does play an important role in funding our schools and appoints School Board members. We should work with the School Board to understand what it will take to make Lynchburg competitive when it comes to teacher pay, and develop a responsible plan to get there.

This is ultimately about our kids. A child shouldn't lose a great teacher because another school division can offer that teacher a substantially better opportunity.

We ask a lot of our teachers. We should make sure Lynchburg is a place where great teachers want to come, build a career, and stay.

When we invest in great teachers, we're investing in our kids.