Mathews County Public Schools finds itself at a critical juncture. In the midst of a national teacher shortage, with qualified classroom professionals hard to attract for even the most competitive of districts, Mathews lags far behind other schools in the region in terms of teacher pay.

The best teachers will continue to leave and finding their replacements will become increasingly difficult.

That is the biggest single issue facing the Mathews County School Board. Last month, in an effort to address this disparity, the school board approved a proposed FY 2020 budget that seeks to even the playing field, which includes a 13 percent raise for teachers and other school employees. But even if county supervisors were to grant the full request, that alone is no panacea. There is still much work ahead to make Mathews schools the best they can be.

And that work requires the input of the community. School board members need to hear from parents and others about what’s going right, what...