On December 6th, a week prior to Governor McDonald releasing his education proposal, the Education Fairness Act, members of VASSP along with members of VAESP met with Javid Siddiqi, the Deputy Secretary of Education to discuss points regarding teacher and administrator issues. VASSP members present were President-elect David Elena, Sharon Pope, Eric Brent, Abe Jeffers and Executive Director and CEO, Randy Barrack.
A number of issues were discussed during this meeting, among them the base salary increases for teachers as well as the expansion of the probation period for teachers from 3 to 5 years. Both items were a part of the Governor’s message on December 12th. This meeting allowed the stakeholders in Virginia’s education leadership to review and make recommendations for the Governor’s initiative.
Once the Governor’s policy proposals were announced, Dr.Keith Perrigan,President of VASSP and principal at Patrick Henry High School in Washington County said, “The Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals stands with the governor in expressing our support for a legislative plan that maintains respect for continuing contract status for instructional personnel, recognizes the need to retain the best teachers for our students and streamlines the procedure for dismissal of ineffective teachers. Our association supports professionals being afforded fair but expedited due process procedures in decisions that affect employment and reputation.”
