The message to City Council from Suffolk’s teachers and parents on Wednesday was loud and clear: Fund teacher raises.

Thirty-one speakers in a budget public hearing included mostly public school teachers and parents who asked the council to fully fund recommendations in a compensation study the council funded last year.

“We need good teachers, and we need them now,” said Elke Boone, an assistant principal at King’s Fork High School. She related some statistics from her school: 11 teacher vacancies at the beginning of the year; six more lost since the beginning of the year; three long-term substitutes, some in core classes.

“You will lose a lot of (teachers) if you do not fund this budget,” said Deborah Perry, a third-grade teacher in Suffolk Public Schools.

The city’s full $547 million budget includes $187 million in the general fund. It proposes a 4-cent increase in the real estate tax rate.

However, the $2 million proposed to help fund the first phase of the school system’s compensation plan is only about half of what would be needed to give raises to teachers in the middle of the pay scale — teachers who currently make 12 to 19 percent below the market value.

“It’s little compensation to get us halfway to average,” teacher William Tomlin said. He took a poll of City Council members, most of whom said they went to Suffolk Public Schools but fewer of whom sent their children to public schools.

“I think we see perhaps why the compensation study, fully funded, is not in the top five priority, but the jail is,” Tomlin said.

Several speakers said they were disappointed that teachers were once again in the position of having to turn up in force to plead for raises.

“It sickens me to see that people have to come up here and beg to get paid what they should be paid,” Suffolk parent Richard Wash said.

Several School Board members also were in attendance.

“Now’s the time to fully fund the school board budget request,” School Board member David Mitnick said. He suggested using a portion of the city’s unassigned fund balance to fund the rest of the first phase of the compensation study, an idea that several speakers raised.

Lakeland High School Principal Douglas Wagoner brought forth some statistics comparing Suffolk to its counterparts across the state. The city is 33rd of 35 cities in total expenditures per pupil.

“Only one city in Virginia spends less money in administrative costs, yet we often hear we are top-heavy in administrative costs,” Wagoner said.

Check Friday’s paper for more details on the hearing, including council members’ reactions to the public hearing.