VB schools support salary increase

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Local school leaders want to make sure the General Assembly knows what's best for schools. The Virginia Beach School Board says a salary increase for teachers and staff needs to be on the agenda.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools says there hasn't been a state funded salary increase since 2007.  The school board says they support a five percent raise for teachers and support staff.

Other issues Virginia Beach schools want the General Assembly to address:

• Letting local school boards set their own school calendars.
• Legislation that would get rid of history and science SOLs for third graders. They say that will allow teachers to focus on math and English skills.
• They want to expand gang-free zones to include school bus stops and publicly owned areas.
• The want to extend the probationary period for new teachers to five years instead of three years.
• They also want to draft changes to grievance procedures.

The school system also has a list of legislation they oppose:

• Unfunded state mandates that require the school system to provide additional services without the state's share of the funding.
• Adding operating costs to the lottery fund, which reduces the amount of money school divisions get.
• Requirements that a school division spend a certain percentage of the budget on specific activities.
• Letting non-public school students take part in school programs.  
• Requiring schools to pay for a student that enrolls in a virtual school outside his or her school division.

Check out Virginia Beach City Public Schools' full legislative agenda here . You can also read the school board's description for each issue they are supporting and opposing.