Opinion

Is it a rainy day in West Virginia?

An editorial from the Charleston Daily Mail

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Perception is nine-tenths of the law in politics and that is the problem with Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s plan to give a 2 percent pay raise to teachers and a $504 a year, across-the-board raise to other state workers.

Few would deny that even with step increases, the state should give teachers and other public servants a raise. The problem is where the money is coming from.

The raises are part of a $148.7 million increase in state government spending, a 3.4 percent budget increase.

To make up the gap in the “austere” state budget, Tomblin plans to withdraw $83.8 million from the state’s $920 million rainy day fund.

That’s a 9 percent withdrawal.

Rainy day? The public notices no such precipitation. Instead, many West Virginians believe the money is already there; officials are spending it wrong.

Data gathered by the National Education Association, a teacher’s union, supports their contention:

West Virginia spent $12,317 per student in 2010-2011.

  • That was 17th in the nation and above the national average of $11,871.

 

  • West Virginia was 49th on per capita income at $31,806 in 2010 or 80 percent of the national average.

 

  • West Virginia was 49th in teacher pay with an average of $44,260 in 2010 or 81 percent of the national average.

A system that is 17th in school spending per student while 49th in pay per teacher indicates a fundamental problem with asset allocation…

Click here for more.

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

And get our latest content in your inbox

Invalid email address