CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Chesapeake school officials have approved a division budget for the upcoming school year that would give pay raises to all staff.

The superintendent’s proposed budget will now move forward to Chesapeake City Council, which will ultimately decide on the amount of school funding the division gets in the next fiscal year.

The Chesapeake School Board met Monday night and voted unanimously to approve the superintendent’s proposed school budget.

The budget includes a 10% increase in teacher pay, a 14% increase in support staff pay, and a 5% increase in administrative pay for the 2022-23 school year.

The proposed budget changes also mean the teacher starting salary would be $51,500.

“I’m proud of everyone coming together to recognize the hard work and dedication of employees over the past several years,” Chesapeake Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton said in a prepared statement in a news release. “Our teachers and support staff in particular have worked tirelessly to support our children and families. Many of these positions have become hard to fill and these raises allow us to be competitive in the job market. If we receive additional funding, I hope to further compensate our administrators as they have worked tirelessly to support our students and schools during this challenging time.”

Like several other school divisions in the region, Chesapeake proposed boosting teacher and staff pay to help retain valuable employees.

Anyone interested in applying to Chesapeake Public Schools should visit the school division’s website: cpschools.com.