Teacher, School Personnel, and State Police Pay Raise
HB4765 is an omnibus pay bill that raises compensation for three groups of public employees in West Virginia: members of the West Virginia State Police, public school teachers, and school service personnel. For the State Police, the bill sets new annual base salary schedules effective July 1, 2026 for sworn ranks, administrative support specialist classifications, and forensic laboratory personnel, and preserves length-of-service increases and supplemental pay provisions. It also continues the superintendent’s authority to establish rules governing pay periods and supplemental payments, while maintaining existing provisions on bonds, cadet-training repayment agreements, and leave for National Guard or reserve duty.
For teachers, the bill establishes a new state minimum salary schedule for school year 2026-2027 and thereafter, increases the long-standing $600 annual payment for teachers with at least 20 years of experience, and retains salary adjustments for certain math and special education teachers as well as certification-based supplements. For school service personnel, the bill raises the minimum monthly pay scale effective July 1, 2026, keeps the classification-based pay structure for a wide range of school support jobs, and preserves or adds various supplements for education levels, shift differentials, holiday work, extra duty assignments, and asbestos-related duties. The bill also clarifies that certain supervisory-aide duties can qualify for additional pay under existing law.
HB4765 amends and reenacts salary provisions in three separate sections of the West Virginia Code: §15-2-5 for State Police compensation, §18A-4-2 for teacher minimum salaries, and §18A-4-8a for school service personnel minimum monthly salaries. Its legal effect is to reset statutory pay floors and related supplements for these employees, beginning July 1, 2026 for the public safety provisions and school personnel pay schedules, and for the 2026-2027 school year for teachers. The bill directly affects state payroll obligations, county school board payroll obligations for certain supplements and overtime-like payments, and compensation administration for State Police ranks and forensic lab classifications.
The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable and noncontroversial. It passed the House unanimously 92-0 and the Senate unanimously 32-0 on the main passage vote, indicating broad bipartisan support for the pay increases. The final Senate action receded and passed 31-1, suggesting only limited remaining objection at the end of the process. The bill’s title as a pay raise measure and the absence of committee transcript opposition also point to general agreement that the affected employees should receive higher pay.
There was little visible contention in the available record, but the bill does preserve several policy choices that could matter in future disputes. For State Police members, the continued exclusion from state wage and hour laws and the structure of supplemental pay in lieu of overtime remain significant features, as does the cap on supplemental payments and the superintendent’s rulemaking authority. For school service personnel, the allocation of some costs to county or local funds, the treatment of extra-duty and holiday work, and the detailed classification/pay-grade structure could be points of administrative concern, though no recorded debate in the provided materials identifies organized opposition. The lone dissenting vote on final Senate passage suggests at least one legislator had some reservation, but the record does not show the reason.