Second in a series of three

Second in a series of three

ARTICLES BY HEADWATERS

Headwaters, the Rappahannock County Public Education Foundation, is providing objective information about how our schools are financed and the progress they are making because it is important for citizens to be knowledgeable about important local issues. The school budget affects every taxpayer in Rappahannock County because it accounts for approximately 70 percent of the entire county budget. How do our teacher

salaries compare?

It is important to recruit and retain the best teachers because they are the most important assets in any successful school system. When hiring teachers, we compete with schools systems throughout the MidAtlantic region (Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and North Carolina).

Tb retain the best teachers, we need to give them every reason to remain with us. It stands to reason that our salaries should be competitive with salaries for teachers statewide and within the Mid-Atlantic region.

Retention of

existing teachers

is important

Encouraging our teachers to remain, with Rappahannock County Schools is an important way to save money and improve our school system. When we retain our teachers, costs for recruiting new teachers are substantially reduced. Additionally, when new teachers enter our system, it takes time and money for them to be trained and learn Rappahannock County’s policies, methods and procedures. Reducing teacher turnover reduces the costs associated with hiring and integrating new