ELIZABETHTOWN — Average teacher salaries in North Carolina rank second of 12 states in the Southeast.
Bemoaned for years by teachers, Democrats and their supporters, the average pay is $54,682, according to a study released this week by the state Department of Public Instruction. The rankings in “Highlights of the North Carolina Public School Budget” are not without controversy over wording and math on both sides of the political aisle.
Calculations include experienced teachers paid for master’s degrees, and a limited amount of local salary supplements provided by counties to boost what the state provides. All but six of the state’s 115 districts have such supplements and the state’s average increase in that — $636 to $5,216 — accounted for almost all of the state’s overall $742 increase.
The report has a focus on state and federal funding. In North Carolina, the state budget includes salary schedules attached to experience.
Another point of discussion with the report is its reflection on the workforce. State averages can rise and fall when experienced teachers are replaced by younger ones. Also, pension and health insurance can cause adjustments to the numbers in that, as lawmakers allot money for benefits that increase, the ability to fund pay raises may decrease.
Variables impacting state averages can differ across the dozen states.
Georgia is the highest in the region, at $57,137. North Carolina was fourth a year ago. The National Education Association said last year’s average of $53,975 was 29th in the country; it hasn’t released rankings this year.
Six years ago, the Old North State ranked 11th at $44,990. In that time, the Republican-led General Assembly has steadily funneled money toward educators for pay increases. It’s an increase of 21.5 percent, including 5.3 percent between 2018 and 2019.
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, vetoed the state budget passed by the legislature last year. It included more money for teachers, among other items. But he said the raises were “paltry” and had the backing of the N.C. Association of Educators in his refusal. Demonstrations of support for Cooper and against the GOP lawmakers were held in Raleigh.
Four months after the budget was to be in place, Cooper signed into law step increases for teachers, instructional support personnel and assisstant principals — a move that gave some but not all raises.
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