RALEIGH (July 6, 2022) – With the 2022-23 budget they unveiled and adopted last week, state legislators simply aren’t taking care of their people – our people. The state has a $6.5 billion revenue surplus this year. Let that sink in: $6,524,141,444.00.1 Yet this state continues to systematically underfund public education. By one estimate, the… READ MORE
$6.2B NC surplus: Make education a priority again
RALEIGH (May 18, 2022) – As the NC General Assembly reconvenes today with a $6.2 billion state budget surplus, it’s time to make education a priority again in North Carolina. Officials announced last week that the state will take in $4.24 billion more than projected in the budget year that ends June 30 – a… READ MORE
NC teacher pay: Keep going
RALEIGH – We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Teacher pay in North Carolina is headed in the right direction. The National Education Association released estimates in March that indicate average pay for North Carolina’s K-12 public school teachers now stands at $53,975, ranking North Carolina 29th among the states.1 That’s an increase… READ MORE
NC teacher pay: Headed in the right direction
RALEIGH (March 14, 2019) – The fact that average pay for North Carolina teachers now ranks 29th in the country is welcome news – the National Education Association released figures this week that show the state’s teachers now make an average of $53,975.1 Yes, we can quibble over averages: How particularly in a growing state,… READ MORE
K-12 teacher pay: A widening gap?
RALEIGH – A major component in education spending, of course, is teacher pay. A quality teacher can make an enormous difference in a child’s future. North Carolina’s rank in K-12 teacher peaked in 2001, when the state’s average teacher salary reached a rank of 19th in the nation. In 2000-01, the average salary for North… READ MORE
K-12 teacher pay: A widening gap?
RALEIGH – A major component in education spending, of course, is teacher pay. A quality teacher can make an enormous difference in a child’s future. North Carolina’s national rank in K-12 teacher peaked in 2001, when the state’s average teacher salary reached a rank of 19th in the nation. In 2000-01, the average salary for… READ MORE
Teachers come first
RALEIGH – Gov. Roy Cooper’s recommended budget for 2018-19 heads in the right direction by prioritizing education over tax cuts and offering an average raise of 8% to North Carolina teachers, whose pay ranked 37th in the country in a recent survey.1 The two-year budget state legislators adopted last year included average raises for K-12… READ MORE
Strong support for raising NC teacher pay
HIGH POINT – A poll released last week revealed overwhelming support among Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated North Carolinians for raising public school teacher pay to the national average. So if it’s a political slam dunk, why don’t legislators do it? The High Point University Poll found that 85 percent of North Carolinians agree that public… READ MORE
A long-term approach on teacher pay, preparation
CHARLOTTE (Oct. 4, 2017) – North Carolina has made efforts in recent years to raise teacher pay from a low of 47th in the nation in 2013-14.1 Yet enrollment in the state’s schools of education is still down. “I’m having fewer and fewer students, even though we have a fantastic program at UNC Charlotte,” Susan… READ MORE