The PWEA Calls Upon Prince William School Board to Increase Employee Salaries by 10% for FY24

The Prince William Education Association [PWEA] leadership team calls upon the PWC Board of County Supervisors and the PWC School Board to increase educator and staff salaries by 10% for Fiscal Year 24, with no increase in employee cost for healthcare benefits.

This immediate action is imperative to address the dramatic inequities between raises offered to county fire, police, and government workers, as opposed to the insufficient raise proposed to educators and school staff.

Prince William County Public Schools presented the proposed school budget for the 2023-2024 school year on Feb. 1, 2023, allocating a mere 2% raise with a salary step increase for educators and school staff, while also increasing the cost of employee healthcare. The school division’s budget was drafted without any input sought or negotiation with educators and school staff, so employees learned of the proposed draft at the same time as it was presented to the public.

On February 28, 2023, Prince William County staff presented the county’s proposed budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which provides the following salary increases:

The proposed compensation for our first responders, county employees, and school employees are:

● Police department: salary step increase, (received 17.5% raise in FY23.)

● Fire department: 6.8% raise, with salary step increase.

● County employees: 6% raise, with salary step increase.

● Educators and school staff: 2% raise with salary step increase, but with an INCREASE in employee-paid health insurance premiums, further reducing the increase in take-home pay.

PWEA calls upon both the Board of County Supervisors and the School Board to take immediate action and implement equitable raises for educators, amending the proposed budget to reflect a 10% raise, with no increase in employee-paid healthcare premiums.

The step-plus raise would average an approximate 5% salary increase for Prince William County educators and 9.8% for Fire & Rescue workers during the 2023-24 Fiscal Year that begins in July. 

In the past, the across-the-board raises have been described as Cost-of-Living increases. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of living has risen by 9.1% from 2021 to 2022.