Source: Cardinal & Pine
Late last month, the Republican-led General Assembly passed the state’s new $30 billion budget; leading to the long awaited expansion of Medicaid and the controversial private school vouchers program.
The budget also includes a measly teacher pay raise, which some have called it a “slap in the face”.
North Carolina teachers will get an average pay raise of 7% over the next two years.
According to Cardinal & Pine, the Republican-led budget would give North Carolina teachers a raise of about $80 a month, on average, after taxes.
The average pay raise of 7% over the next two years comes as the National Education Association ranked North Carolina 46th in the nation for beginning teacher pay and 34th in average teacher pay.
On top of the state falling below the national average for teacher pay, North Carolina public schools started the school year with over 3,500 teaching vacancies.
“There’s a shortage of folks around the state, especially school counselors and other mental health professionals, who can really help our young people, but this budget really falls short of that objective,” N.C. Rep. Allen Buansi told The Daily Tarheel.
Cardinal & Pine found that with recent rates of inflation in mind, the cost of school supplies are increasing at a faster rate than teacher salaries. For North Carolina teachers, spending their own money to obtain much-needed supplies may get harder.
“This budget doesn’t encourage people to stay in the profession when there are no opportunities for growth,” Tamika Walker Kelly, the president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said in a statement. “Instead, we should be rewarding teachers for their experience and the value they bring to their students.”
