ROANOKE, Va. – The Virginia Education Association wants to clear up statements Gov. Glenn Youngkin made to 10 News about teacher pay moving forward.

This week, the governor signed the next biennium budget for the state. One highlight of the budget was a record amount of investment into education, including teacher pay.

“At the heart of the investment is bringing teacher salaries from well below the national average, to at the national average this year and expected to be in excess of the national average over the next two years,” Youngkin said in an interview with 10 News on Tuesday.

Following 10 News’ story, the Virginia Education Association (VEA) reached out saying the governor’s statement is inaccurate.

“The governor is referencing the Virginia Department of Education’s ‘Annual Salary Survey Report’ which takes into account averages from guidance counselors and other technical positions,” Chad Stewart with VEA said.

The VEA even sent a letter to the governor’s office reading in part:

VDOE’s “Annual Salary Survey Report” includes all salary expenditures (including supplemental pay) for classroom teachers, homebound teachers, guidance counselors, librarians, and instructional technology positions. NEA includes only classroom teachers, substitutes, and homebound teachers (the same method for each state) and DOES NOT include supplemental pay

VEA letter to Gov. Youngkin

“It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. We’re kind of taking this orange from our own Virginia Department of Education number and inserting it into the National Education Association report,” Stewart said.

Virginia’s estimated average teacher pay in the most recent NEA Rankings and Estimates Report released two weeks ago is $65,058 this year, $6,641 below the estimated national average which is $71,699.

Stewart also said the state will need to offer a 14% increase in the next budget cycle to reach the promised legislative goal of meeting the national teacher pay average by the 2027-28 school year.

Ft. Worth, TX – The West Virginia Mountaineers (31-19, 17-10) are on the road for their final regular season series and will wrap up Big 12 Conference play against the TCU Horned Frogs (30-17, 13-14).

Game one: 7:00 p.m. EST

Game two: 7:30 p.m. EST

Game three: 4:00 p.m. EST

West Virginia has won three of its last four games after dismantling Peen State 18-7 in a midweek matchup last week and followed by taking a from Kansas State to send head coach Randy Mazey out with a win in the final home game of his career.

JJ Wetherholt has returned to form after suffering a hamstring injury early in the season and missing 24 games. The junior is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak with five multi-hit games and had a .500 batting average with three home runs, three doubles and 10 RBIs during that stretch.

Sophomore Sam White is hitting a team-high .330.

Senior Reed Chumley leads the team in home runs (14), doubles (12) and RBIs (40).

Senior Hayden Cooper (1-3, 5.68) will take the mound in game one.

Derek Clark (6-2, 3.14) is set for game two. The senior is 6-2 on the season and his 3.14 ERA is the second lowest in the Big 12, and junior Tyker Switalski (3-2, 6.56) is scheduled for the series finale.

TCU is scheduled to counter with Payton Tolle in the series opener. The junior holds the lowest ERA in the Big 12 at 2.87 and leads the league in strikeouts with 105.

Kole Klecker is slated for game two. The sophomore is 1-2 in eight starts and holds a 5.08 ERA.

TCU has taken its last two Big 12 series, including a sweep at Baylor. Last weekend, the Horned Frogs wrapped up its nonconference schedule, taking two of three from New Mexico State.

Logan Maxwell leads the team at the plate. The X holds team-highs in batting average (.349), doubles (12), OPS (.959), and slugging percentage (.497).

Luke Boyers and Kurtis Byrne registered a team best six home runs apiece. Byrne has also hit a team-leading 36 RBIs.

West Virginia is 11-24 all-time versus TCU. The Horned Frogs have won seven of the 10 series played between the two programs. However, the Mountaineers have taken the last two series.

The long-awaited NFL schedule release is here and the Dallas Cowboys now know their plans for the next several months.

We already knew the team would kick off the season on the road against the Cleveland Browns but now we have the rest of the schedule as well.

A few key dates include a Thanksgiving Day showdown with the New York Giants, a re-match with the San Francisco 49ers in Week 8 — which comes after the bye — and a season finale against Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders.

Once the schedule was officially released, teams began to send out videos on social media.

The Cowboys were no exception as they prank called several opposing teams’ fans, including a few well-known former players.

Some of the fans out there seemed to enjoy the release.

Others didn’t agree, with one fan calling it the worst they ever did. And in all honesty, there wasn’t much entertainment value here.

What’s worse is someone pointed out an issue on their release. The Cowboys put their Thursday Night Football showdown with the Giants down as Sunday, Sept. 26.

Others circled games they have interest in, or ones they wished would have happened.

Then there were the record predictions and a jab about the “all-in” Cowboys.

And of course, some wanted to discuss the toughest stretches, which are always important.

There are plenty of prime time games, some high-profile re-matches, and of course, some difficult NFC East showdowns. The Cowboys schedule is here and we’re now ready for the season to begin.