As teacher pay has stagnated, how far those dollars will stretch has shrunk. Prices on consumer goods are 17 percent higher than they were in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“If we’re going to be able to recruit and retain talented teachers, we need to pay them,” Northam said. “Obviously, they teach for the love of it and they love children, but they also have bills to pay.”

A 1 percent increase in teacher pay reduces teacher turnover by 1.4 percent, a 2014 study published in the Journal of Public Economics found, with the biggest impact coming among less experienced teachers.

Kathy Beery, a teacher in Harrisonburg, has taught for 20 years and called Northam’s proposal a “good start.” Beery said she’s not close to retirement, for financial reasons, and wants the General Assembly to act.

“It’s there,” she said of state money. “They could very easily put it toward education, but that’s not their priority.”

The General Assembly is currently looking at a long list of options for more than $2 billion in new dollars. Most of the $155 million in internet sales tax money is already earmarked for localities, transportation and some for education. About a third of that money is still up for grabs.