Will the WV Legislature do something good? Maybe, but don't hold your breath.

Yahoo

25-03-2025

West Virginia legislators are considering a bill that would give teachers pay raises based on their local cost of living. (Getty Images)
The West Virginia Legislature gets a lot of attention for being a 'bad idea factory.'
It's rare when a bill that's getting a lot of attention might actually be a good thing.
Senate Bill 506 is one of the rarities. Of course, it's not getting attention for the good it will do — give teachers a pay raise — but rather because people don't like who gets the raises.
The raise given will be determined by median home prices in the county where they teach. It will be given in the form of a 'lump sum in the amount of the market pay enhancement' once a year, and will be subject to personal income tax. The market pay enhancement for each county will be adjusted every five years.
There's been a lot of outrage on social media over this. People don't understand why lawmakers think that teachers in the Eastern Panhandle should make more than teachers in Southern West Virginia.
Well, it's because of the cost of living. A teacher who makes $50,000 in Jefferson County can't make that money go as far as a teacher who makes $50,000 in McDowell County.
Think about the difference in the cost of living between a small town in West Virginia versus Washington, D.C. In February 2024, the median home price in D.C. was $535,000. In McDowell County, the average cost of a home is around $35,000.
Because of the Eastern Panhandle's proximity to Washington, D.C., the cost of living is more similar between those locations than the Eastern Panhandle and Southern West Virginia.
Let's look at what the living wages are for McDowell and Jefferson counties.
A single person with one child in McDowell County, needs to make $63,333 a year (before taxes) in order to pay for food, child care, rent/mortgage, transportation, utilities, food, etc. — however, on average they receive a salary of $56,950. In Jefferson County, the required annual income jumps up to $78,123, but teachers still only make $56,950 on average.
People seem to be concerned that teachers in poor counties will be getting the short end of the stick, or they'll leave to go teach in counties that pay more. This is a legitimate concern — teachers are already leaving the state to teach in neighboring states that pay more.
The problem with the bill is that only 25 out of 55 counties would qualify for a potential salary enhancement, according to the state's board of education. Teachers in poorer counties will be left out, but they still deserve a raise.
West Virginia ranks last in the U.S. in teacher pay. According to the National Education Association, the average salary for a teacher in the United States is $69,544. In West Virginia, teachers earn less than $53,000 (and most start at a salary of $40,339), followed by Florida at $53,098 and South Dakota at $53,153.
According to the bill, the pay raises would take effect in 2026, and would cost the state an estimated $183 million. And with Gov. Patrick Morrisey's proposed budget's $400 million budget hole, making passage of this bill less likely.
During his State of the State address, Morrisey did call for teacher pay raises, but he didn't request any bills to do so.
SB 506 has been sent to the Senate Finance Committee. March 30 is crossover day, meaning that the bill must advance to the House by that day if it has any chance of passing. At this point, it's the only bill regarding teacher pay raises that has been discussed in either chamber.
All teachers in West Virginia deserve a raise — they're grossly underpaid, and they still spend more than 40 hours each week educating and caring for and about the children in their classrooms. If we want to improve public education, this is a great place to start.
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