Members of the Mathews County School Board and Board of Supervisors sat down Tuesday to begin discussions about the following year’s budget . Officials say the current budget is a work in progress and has the bulk of its money (68.4 percent) going to teacher salaries and other instructional needs. Enrollment, has been in “pretty consistent decline over the last 20 years” in Mathews. He presented a chart that showed an enrollment of 1,289 students in 2003-2004, with numbers decreasing in every subsequent year. The division, he said, has 224 full- and part-time staff, of which there are 87 licensed teachers.
The average teacher salary in Mathews is $58,197, with another $27,792 in benefits, on average although that figure varies widely depending on the benefits received.