Low teacher salaries combined with rising housing costs are driving educators out of West Virginia and preventing new teachers from relocating to the state. Berkeley County Board of Education President Jackee Long notes that average home prices in her county range from 260-thousand to 275-thousand dollars, with average prices around 350-thousand dollars. She points out that average Berkeley County teacher salaries are 50-thousand dollars while service personnel earn less than 29-thousand dollars. State Senator Darren Thorne cautions that local pay increases could be difficult to implement fairly across rural areas of the state.