HAMPTON, Va. — Gov. Ralph Northam made a stop in Hampton Tuesday to talk about the impact of climate change in Hampton Roads. However, News 3 spoke with Northam about the promises he’s made to increase teacher salaries.
Northam is currently on his “Thank You Virginia Tour." As he’s preparing to leave office soon, his mission is to increase teacher salaries by 10%, making it the largest increase in 15 years.
"One of the reasons we're able to talk about raises for our teachers, raises for law enforcement agencies, is because for the last four years, our economy has done well. We've had good physical stewardship; we had a surplus of $2.6 billion - it's the largest we've ever had. We have more in our reserve funds than ever in the history of Virginia," he said.
Northam said the increase will be over the course of two years, with increased compensation of 5% each year. This would make a total compensation increase of 10.25%.
He also discussed his proposal to raise law enforcement agencies' pay by 7.7%. According to Northam, he said it will be a priority in his budget, but he hopes the next administration will carry out these projects.
