WKKX EDITORIAL NO. 108
(Teachers’ Salaries)
Our children are our most precious and valuable resource. It is essential that we provide each of our children with the best education we can afford.
West Virginia has an excellent educational system which is staffed by dedicated and hard-working teachers. In days past, a teacher’s job was much more attractive. Discipline issues were handled without complaining parents or lawsuits. Today the school’s environment has changed making it less rewardable to be a teacher.
As a foundation of a good educational system, we must pay our teachers a fair salary that attracts the brightest and best. This is an investment in our children and in the future of our state.
Unfortunately, West Virginia teachers’ salaries remain 45th out of 50 states and are lower than all of our sister states -- Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.
Teachers’ salaries in West Virginia are an embarrassment and show lack of commitment to our educational system and children.
If West Virginia is ever going to become a competitive business state, we must first invest in our educational system and pay our teaching profession good, competitive salaries, which will continue to attract the best people to teach our future generations of leaders. Meaningful teacher raises must be the first order of priority for the next legislative session and our Governor must support these desperately needed teacher raises.
