NoVa School Districts That Pay Teachers The Most, Least In 2020

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — Public school teachers in Northern Virginia are the highest paid in the state, but their pay is still below the level many believe is necessary to attract highly qualified candidates to the teaching profession. Arlington County leads the way in Northern Virignia, while the city of Manassas pays its teachers the lowest on average in the region.

Looking at the state as a whole, average annual teacher salaries vary widely, from a high of $81,129 in Arlington County to a low of $39,567 in Grayson County Public Schools, a school district in southwestern Virginia.

Because of the incredibly important role teachers play in the lives of children, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the frontrunner for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, has proposed a starting salary for teachers of at least $60,000. But such a salary would be much higher than the average salary of all teachers in 37 states.

In Virginia, the average annual salary for classroom teachers was $60,265 in the 2019-2020 school year, the Virginia Department of Education says in a new report. Starting salaries for teachers with a master's degree range from a high of $59,500 in Loudoun County to a low of $35,000 in Russell County Public Schools, another financially strapped county in southwestern Virginia.

In Northern Virginia, the city of Alexandria ranks second in average teacher salaries — behind Arlington County — at $78,100 per year followed by Fairfax County at $78,000, Falls Church City at $77,000, Loudoun County at $75,800 and Prince William County at $69,500, according to the VDOE report.

For the starting salaries of teachers with a master's degree, none of the Northern Virginia school districts meet Sanders' goal of $60,000. Loudoun County comes close, paying its teachers with a master's degree an average starting salary of $59,500. Falls Church schools start their teachers at an average of $57,200, followed by Alexandria starting teachers at $56,400.

The starting salary in Arlington County — the school system with the highest average teacher salary in the entire state — is only $53,200, putting the school system at the bottom of the list in Northern Virginia, even below the city of Manassas, which pays its starting teachers with a master's degree an average annual salary of $53,400.

Arlington County says the lower starting salary reflects the school district's focus on "longevity" and providing incentives for teachers to stay with the system.

"One of our main strategic plan goals is to have an engaged workforce by retaining high-quality staff," Arlington County Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia said in an email to Patch. "One of the ways we accomplish this is to pay teachers with experience (8 years or more) at a higher rate. As teachers add training and expertise in various areas, we reward them by continuing to increase their compensation."

Rewarding longevity and providing many opportunities for growth in its system allows Arlington Public Schools to attract and retain our teachers early in their career and to recruit experienced teachers with a track record of strong performance from other jurisdictions, according to Bellavia. Arlington County, one of the most expensive places to live in the D.C. area, is home to about 50 percent of all Arlington Public School staff, he added.

The average annual salary for teachers in Northern Virginia is far above the state average of $60,265, according to the VDOE data. In nearby areas outside of Northern Virginia, however, teacher salaries drop off significantly.

Teacher salaries in each of the school districts in the Fredericksburg area are below the state average. Fredericksburg City School teacher salaries in fiscal year 2020 are on average $58,670, followed by Stafford County teachers at $58,394 and Spotsylvania County teachers at $56,329.

In Northern Virginia, Manassas City officials recognize teachers in their jurisdiction are lagging behind the rest of the region. Manassas Schools Superintendent Kevin Newman is recommending a $126 million budget for the 2021 fiscal year, including $108.7 million for school operations.

The school board has a goal of making the district’s teacher salaries more competitive compared with nearby districts. The proposed budget includes a 2-percent cost-of-living adjustment and a step increase to average about 4.4 percent.

Fairfax County Public Schools, the largest school system in Virginia with more than 189,000 student and the 10th largest in the country, has a goal of leading the region in teacher compensation, according to Fairfax County Public Schools spokesman John Torre.

For the past three years, the Fairfax County school systems has prioritized "market competitive compensation" for teachers and is continuing to prioritize teacher compensation in the fiscal year 2021 advertised budget, Torre said.

"Our focus is achieving success for every student, and that can only be accomplished by ensuring that we have the ability to recruit and retain the very best teachers," Torre said in an email to Patch. "Despite a critical shortage of teachers in the U.S., we were able to start the school year with less than 90 teacher vacancies. We must continue to attract and retain top-notch teachers and staff."

The fiscal year 2021 advertised budget for the Fairfax County school system includes $50.1 million for a step increase in salaries for eligible employees, $15.4 million for additional salary scale enhancements, and $25.3 million for a 1-percent market scale adjustment, Torre said.

In Loudoun County, the school district with the highest starting teacher salaries in the state, compensation is a key part of the school system's efforts to attract and retain excellent teachers, Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman Rob Doolittle told Patch.

Doolittle said one of Loudoun County Public Schools' guiding principles is providing staff members greater compensation earlier in their careers, allowing them to make more choices such as buying a home, saving for retirement and having more disposable income.

"This strategy increases the likelihood of attracting new staff members and retaining teachers at the time of their careers when they are most likely to leave teaching," he said.

The Loudoun County school system also "works to improve consistency of increases between salary steps, which promotes retention by providing staff members with a stable annual increase throughout their careers," Doolittle said.

Average Public School Teacher Salary Rankings In Northern Virginia (Source: VDOE, FY2020)

1. Arlington County: $81,129
2. City of Alexandria: $78,132
3. Fairfax County: $77,985
4. City of Falls Church: $77,030
5. Loudoun County: $76,819
6. Prince William County: $69,497
7. City of Manassas: $68,415

Average Public School Starting Teacher Salary Rankings In Northern Virginia (Source: VDOE, FY2020)

1. Loudoun County: $59,900
2. City of Falls Church: $57,237
3. City of Alexandria: $56,372
4. Prince William County: $55,237
5. Fairfax County: $55,000
6. City of Manassas: $53,353
7. Arlington County: $53,173