Thousands of teachers on over $100k salaries to walk off the job tomorrow as they demand higher pay

• Victoria teachers reject 28.3 per cent pay rise offer
• Schools brace for statewide strike 

Tens of thousands of teachers across Victoria are getting ready to walk off the job over poor working conditions after rejecting a 28.3 per cent pay rise.

In Victoria, salaries currently range between $78,021 and $126,992 for teachers. Principals can earn up to $236,313.

On Tuesday, members of the state's Australian Education Union (AEU) branch knocked back the government's updated offer of a 28.3 per cent pay rise over the next four years.

The deal would have seen more than 90,000 teachers receive an extra $1,000 a month by October and almost $3,000 more per month by 2030. 

There was a narrow majority of 51 per cent of members who opted to turn down the offer, compared to an almost 49 per cent who voted in favour.

AEU Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly said educators were seeking a better offer to address ongoing staffing shortages and resourcing pressures. 

'They've had a gutful,' he told reporters.

'The government's done precious little to do anything meaningful to address that and our members are carrying the weight of all the excessive workload. The critical thing is that the majority have decided to reject it.'

Union members have been locked in a pay dispute with the government for nearly a year, with graduate teachers, the lowest paid in the country, earning about $13,000 less than their counterparts in the Northern Territory, who are the highest paid. 

Members had been pushing for a 35 per cent pay rise over four years after rejecting an initial offer of an 18.5 per cent increase over three years.

A Department of Education spokesman told the Herald Sun that all public schools were expected to remain open on Thursday despite the strike.

'The department is working to limit disruption to families,' he said.

'Whilst all schools are expected to be open on Thursday, many schools will only be able to provide supervision for a limited number of students.

'Schools will communicate any changes to school programs directly to parents and carers.'

Parents and guardians for students at Blackburn High School received an email from principal Joanna Alexander saying classes for all students, except Year 7s, were not going ahead.

'Only Year 7 students are expected to attend school in school uniform at 9am for the start of period one,' she said on Tuesday, according to the Sun.

'Students in Years 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 will have their scheduled classes cancelled, and students in these year levels are not required to attend school on the day.

'If these arrangements create difficulties for your family, particularly for those working in critical services, please contact the school so we can discuss support options.'

Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll described the outcome as disappointing, urging the union leadership to stop the strike.

'This deal would have made Victorian teachers and education support staff the best paid in the country, together with the best conditions,' he said.

'I urge the AEU leadership to call off the planned strike, because students should be in classrooms and parents shouldn't be left scrambling for childcare or losing a day's pay.'

Thursday's strike is set to mirror scenes from March, when more than 35,000 teachers, principals and education support workers walked off the job for the first time in 13 years. 

In June, teachers voted down a revised state government offer on pay and conditions, despite their union reaching an in-principle agreement with the government.

A fresh statewide strike was announced by teachers for Thursday, prompting the government to table another eleventh-hour pay offer.

Teacher Liz Walsh, a member of Socialists in Schools, celebrated the move to reject the offer.

'We have suffered for so long, with wages falling behind inflation and workload levels at crisis points,' she said.

'Thousands of people have quit in despair, but now is our chance to turn the situation around.'

Unionised public school educators will gather in Melbourne's CBD on Thursday for a planned rally to coincide with the strike.