At Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Waynesboro School Board, two members of the Waynesboro Education Association spoke during public comment on the 2026 budget regarding teacher salaries.
Kathryn Brown, WEA president and a 2nd-grade teacher at Wenonah Elementary School, and Laura Riggan, WEA vice president and a history teacher at Waynesboro High School, pointed out issues with teacher pay in Waynesboro and presented Virginia Department of Education data.
Brown said that Waynesboro teacher salaries are still below the state average for teachers with bachelor’s degrees at every benchmark level.
“For the last three years, we’ve talked about achieving and maintaining competitive salaries within our region and also within the state,” Brown said. During that time, Waynesboro Schools staff have seen some gains, however, last year the school system saw a drop in almost every salary level.
Waynesboro Schools was above the state average for paying teachers who have master’s degrees.
Pay for new teachers continues to be more competitive in the region than for more experienced teachers.
“Unfortunately, veteran teachers have incentive to leave and go to the states that compensate their most experienced employees,” Brown said.
They pointed out that teachers have to work for 35 years in Waynesboro before they reach the top of the salary scale.
Brown said that the WEA would like for Waynesboro Schools “to recommit to improving our rankings” in the state for teacher salaries and meet the average for the region and the state. WEA would like more incentives offered to experienced teachers to stay in Waynesboro and to see the salary scale reduced from 35 to 25 steps so that teachers can reach top pay sooner in their careers, in comparison to other professional fields.
During regular public comments, Edward McNett, chair of the WEA Committee for Collective Bargaining, spoke up. He has taught English in Waynesboro Schools for 24 years.
McNett said he spoke Tuesday night on behalf of his teacher colleagues to ask the school board to support collective bargaining for Waynesboro teachers, “because I believe it’s a collaborative tool that would positively impact us all.”
Collective bargaining would give all teachers a voice.
“It is the most crucial tool in taking a collaborative approach to education which provides all stakeholders a venue through which to contribute so we can all learn from one another,” McNett said.
Collective bargaining is a formal contract between administration and staff which allows staff opportunities to provide input on policies.
“It is by no means a case of the tail wagging the dog,” McNett said. Final decisions would still be up to Waynesboro School Board, but after input from teachers and staff.
During his career, McNett said he later become a supervisor over his mentors but he continued to listen to their input and advice. Collaboration is important.
“That’s why we’re asking for our voices to be heard,” McNett said. “Community outreach has been a focus of the district. Well, collective bargaining is outreach to the community of all school employees. Collectively, we, as a group working together, can be affective in crafting solutions to the challenges facing our schools, our students and ourselves.”
Share
Rebecca Barnabi
