Middlesex County school reps sound alarm on non-competitive pay for teachers

Middlesex County Public Schools pays its teachers the lowest salaries of any school system on “this side of Interstate 95” was the message to Supervisors from school officials and the public at a hearing on the county’s proposed 2025-2026 budget.

Earlier in the budget process, the school board requested from supervisors funding to give a 7% raise to teachers and 4% raise to other school employees in an attempt to get salaries competitive with surrounding counties.

This went by the wayside early in budget talks as County Administrator Matt Walker recommended a 3% across the board raise for county and school employees, which appeared to be embraced by MCBS.

Back in February, School Superintendent Dr. Tracy Seitz warned that because Middlesex teachers have been receiving only “cost of living raises” over the past few years and other divisions have been giving higher increases, other school divisions are now ahead of Middlesex.

Substitute Teachers

Andy Reed of Urbanna and a substitute teacher at Middlesex High School praised the quality of education being provided in the county’s school system. However, he said years of just giving cost of living raises has resulted in full-time teachers leaving the school system for better pay elsewhere and more and more classes are being taught by long-term substitutes.

He said the schools have not been able to hire a special education teacher to replace a full-time teacher who left the school system earlier this year. “It is critical for our children that teachers are paid enough to be able to stay in our school system,” he said.

Parent of a student in the school system, Dawn Moore, said that the school system will not be able to retain teachers unless the county is willing to put up the funds to provide competitive salaries.

“It is not going to happen as long as you provide cost of living raises because if other counties around us give similar raises we cannot catch up,” she said.

School board chairman and Jamaica District school board member Elliott Reed said Middlesex teachers have left the school system for $5,000 raises from other systems. “I’m tired of losing teachers over $5,000,” he said. “Everyone works hard in our school system and if we (school board) could pay teachers more — we would, but it is based on your funding (directed at the supervisors). We need your help to keep from losing good teachers to better paying jobs elsewhere.”

Administrator Walker noted in his report on the proposed budget that the county increased the local share of funds to the school system by $461,349 but that the school board did request over a $1 million increase to cover basic needs.

Saluda supervisor and chairman of the board Don Harris and Jamaica District supervisor Wayne Jessie spoke in support of the school system and alluded to the possibility of more funding next year — tied to an upcoming reassessment that is predicted to have 20% to 30% increases in taxable land values.

Middlesex supervisors are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 28 at the Middlesex County Historic Courthouse to go over conversations from the Monday April 21 public hearing.