March 2022 Newsletter

Our schools are in crisis.

Greetings! We have some critical news to share with you this month. Like many industries in the private sector, public education faces a shortage of workers, especially teachers. However, the teacher shortage began long before the pandemic and has only gotten worse since 2020.  Interest in job fairs has plummeted 60% over the last 13 years, causing us to cancel the most recent event due to so few applicants. Some teachers are even quitting mid-year. The school division also has a deficit of dozens of support staff from cuts made during the Great Recession.  This year, we’ve resorted to paying our own teachers to cover absences due to a lack of substitute teachers. That’s unprecedented in Staunton City Schools, and it’s unsustainable.

Educators are exiting the profession in record numbers.

This story isn't unique to Staunton. It's happening all over the United States. For decades, teachers and administrators have been praised for educating students on a shoestring budget. Unfortunately, that resourcefulness has been exploited by decision-makers across the nation. "The schools will be fine," they say. "They always find a way to make it work."  Meanwhile, teachers and administrators dip into their pockets to cover expenses, work extra long hours, and take on many responsibilities beyond their own.  In a time of extraordinary stress, teachers and staff are finally saying enough. Their wages never meet the demands of the profession nor keep pace with inflation.   Our educators do noble work. If we want to keep excellent teachers and recruit the best to our schools, local, state, and federal officials must do their part to fully fund public education.

It’s time to make our schools whole.

In our upcoming budget, we're doing all we can to make school employees' jobs more attractive: We're proposing a 6% pay increase and a bonus to offset inflation; expanding our preschool program to offer free childcare to school employees for preschool-age children; offering free afterschool childcare for employees' elementary-age children; adding unencumbered days to the school calendar that give teachers additional time to plan their lessons; continuing the Staunton Kindness Challenge to boost morale and invigorate our schools with positive energy; and we are not passing along a 22% hike in our insurance premium to employees. We'll cover the cost from our insurance reserves to avoid raising employees' insurance rates. Those are meaningful actions, but, ultimately, our ability to recruit and retain high-quality teachers and staff won't happen without increasingly strong funding support from the city.

Speak up for Staunton's students and staff.

It's budget season, and Staunton City Council will be deciding how much funding schools will receive over the next several weeks. Numerous localities throughout Virginia are already responding to the crisis by prioritizing public education in their FY 2023 budgets, allocating more money to schools over and above the norm. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, one factor has been consistent across the Commonwealth: Tax revenues reached historic levels and exceeded expectations in Virginia last year. Many localities saw significant bumps in local tax revenues, allowing them to boost support for their schools. We'll soon be asking Staunton City Council to be a leader in our region and do the same. Robust funding will help give our employees an incentive to stay and keep us competitive with our neighboring school divisions. In this time of crisis, we can't afford to fall behind. You can support our educators and the future of Staunton's students by attending School Board and City Council meetings in March and April to advocate for strong school funding. The future of public education in Staunton depends on the unwavering support of citizens like you! Thank you for your support.

116 West Beverley Street Staunton, VA 24401 Phone: 540.332.3920

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www.staunton.k12.va.us