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Stafford County teachers continue to protest the county's school budget by doing only what their contract guidelines hold them to.
Five-year-old Gracie Worley is a whiz with letters and loves to learn. But her mother fears, with the salary Stafford County teachers make, quality educators will be hard to find.
"Teachers aren't gonna want to go into the profession if they're not gonna be able to live, not necessarily make the big bucks but, live," said Lisa Worley.
Stafford County teachers were denied cost-of-living raises this year. The school district requested that the county board of supervisors provide an additional $15 million. They were approved for only $750,000.
"I don't even understand how they can afford to pay a mortgage here," said Crystal Williams.
Some teachers are now expressing their frustration by refusing to work extra hours or do unpaid work. Williams supports their efforts.
"They gotta come out here and protest to get money? They should never have to do that. That's a public service job," she said.
Other parents point to rising fuel costs with decreasing support from the state and federal government for classroom expenses.
"With everything going up, the only thing thats not going up is people's salaries," said Timette Brooks.
"I want quality teachers at our schools and the way that you get quality teachers is to pay them well," said Worley.
The base salary for Stafford County teachers is about $36,000. They were asking for a 2.5 percent cost of living increase, which was denied.
Desideratum: - stil, you haven't got a clue do you? YES, teachers are hired and they get paid a yearly salary - the current salary that was approved in the previous fiscal year. Each year there IS a COLA (for those who don't understand acronyms - cost of living adjustment), and each year a teacher makes just a little bit more on top of that. In some districts, sometimes teachers will go a few years without ANY raise and the steps freeze. I'm sure you wouldn't like it if you were told you were getting a raise and then they yank the carpet from underneath you. I love my job, and I'm smart with my money, I'm not complaining about my job one bit. But is 40k enough for a first year teacher to make it down here? No wonder districts are always looking for teachers, they leave for better pay. Maybe you need a nice long vacation...oh I forgot, you probably don't get 2 months in the summer off....oooohhhhh so sorry. Ours is well deserved, we don't get paid overtime :-) , and dear God I hope you don't have kids. Remember, apples don't fall far from the tree.
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