CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) The Albemarle County School Board voted Thursday to increase board members’ salaries substantially, the first raise for the board since 2022.

In a 5-1 vote, the board upped its annual salary per member from $7,915 to $16,249.20, effective Jan. 1. The move makes serving on the board more feasible for a wider range of community members, said Rivanna District representative Judy Le in a statement released by the board.

“We want every member of our community, regardless of income or background, to see School Board service as a viable path,” Le said. “Our goal is to ensure that our Board reflects the diversity of the students and families we serve.”

A recent analysis showed the board’s compensation had fallen behind peer divisions, where the average pay was $14,608, according to the statement.

Chair Dr. Kate Acuff, who has served on the board for over a decade, said a raise in salary can only be passed in years when at least two members are up for re-election, meaning if the board did not act now, it would have been another two years before the widening gap between other markets could be addressed.

“It was a major opportunity to do something about that,” Acuff told Cville Right Now on Friday.

Acuff said the total cost to the division will be $58,000, which she said represents .0002% of the total school budget.

“it is not going to break the budget,” Acuff said. “And it’s long overdue.”

But the decision raised eyebrows among teachers and teacher advocates in the area. Albemarle Education Association president Mary McIntyre questioned why this raise was done all at one time, instead of the gradual corrections that have been used to bring staff salaries in line with the market.

“In the recent past, when ACPS has determined that certain positions need to be adjusted to be closer to market rates and the budget is tight, they’ve told employees it needed to be done in phases over multiple years,” McIntyre told Cville Right Now. “The budget for next year is more than tight — over 40 full-time positions were cut and entire programs were shut down. This decision was made with no explanation about where this money would come from, and it was not included in the budget approved by the board in May. The union is not against anyone being paid fairly for their work, but being fiscally responsible shouldn’t only matter when it is rank-and-file employees who are needing a raise.”

The school board’s three previous raises were all in line with the raise that other county employees received, according to a presentation by ACPS director of human resources Dan Redding during the board’s meeting.

“We want to be sure the school board compensation matches the expectations of the community for the work that’s being done,” Redding said during the meeting.

Charlottesville, with a student population about 1/3 the size of Albemarle County, recently voted raise its board salary to $10,000 effective Jan. 1, Redding said.

Virginia’s administrative code offers two ways for the Board to raise its salary. One of those ways is based on population. That code caps salary at $15,000. The second does not cap the raise but requires an annual vote to approve the salary.

That is the option the board went with Thursday.

McIntyre spoke during the public comment portion of Thursday’s meeting and noted her objection that the Board discussed the matter prior to hearing the public’s comment. She also pointed out that teachers are asked to justify their requests for pay raises, and suggested the Board accept a smaller raise this year.

Heidi Gilman Bennett, chair of the Family Council, also spoke Thursday, and said she supported the idea of a raise for the Board because it would make serving a more viable option. But Gilman Bennett also questioned the timing of the raise, considering the current budget restraints.

The funds to pay the board’s salary come from the school operating fund, as do most staff salaries.

The board voted 5-1 to pass the raise, with only Leslie Pryor, of the Rio District, voting against it. At-large representative Allison Spillman was absent.