The North Carolina Board of Education unanimously approved a statement today calling for a raise of 鈥渦pwards of 10 percent鈥� for all public school teachers, as well as investments in beginning teacher pay, to make North Carolina a "leader" in the Southeast. In the last state budget, some teachers got a 2.5% raise annually for two years, but veteran teachers received less.
Board Member Jill Camnitz said superintendents 鈥� especially those in the northeast region of the state that persistently face higher teacher vacancy rates 鈥� say the need is urgent.
鈥淚鈥檓 hearing that we can't find teachers right now, and we need to be looking at teacher pay now,鈥� Camnitz said.
The board viewed comparisons with teacher pay in neighboring states adjusted for the cost of living. Of ten states in the Southeast, North Carolina ranked seventh for average teacher pay and last for beginning teacher pay.
鈥淲hat I hear from superintendents so often is it's not just the neighboring state, but it's that private employer that's able to offer so much more,鈥� Board Chair Eric Davis added.
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, a Republican, said she believes teacher pay should be based on what professionals with similar degrees and credentials as teachers earn.
鈥淥ne of the responses to increased teacher pay I hear a lot is, 鈥榃ell, teachers make X percentage more than the average wage in a particular county,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think that is such a flawed way of looking at teacher pay.鈥�
She added: 鈥淚 believe in market pay for teachers, which is a controversial idea. We need to be able to attract more teachers across the board, but specifically more teachers in special education, and math and science at the secondary level."
Truitt also pointed out that even modest raises to teacher pay are costly, because a third of any proposed salary increase would go to support teachers鈥� retirement and health benefits, rather than their take-home pay. She noted that not all neighboring states offer teacher benefits that are as robust as North Carolina鈥檚, and that is one aspect of teacher compensation.
State bd member Jill Camnitz showed these comparisons of NC teacher pay with other states, adjusted for cost-of-living. Avg beginners pay is on the left...
— Liz Schlemmer (@LSchlemmer_瓜神app)
Across-the-board raises to teacher pay would require support from the North Carolina General Assembly. Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, who also serves on the state board of education, said he would support teacher raises.
鈥淲e're seeing huge surpluses in our budget every year. So the money's there,鈥� Robinson said.
estimate North Carolina will see a $3 billion surplus in tax revenue this year, which Republican leaders in the House and Senate say may lead to more tax cuts.
State board passes recommendations for teacher licensing and pay pilot
When the topic of teacher pay came up in the board鈥檚 discussion earlier this week, Truitt said the state will require multiple solutions to improve teacher retention.
鈥淲e need to restructure the way that we compensate teachers so that it is attracting this generation of teachers to the profession,鈥� Truitt said. 鈥淭hat involves creating a pathway to advancement that comes with more responsibility and more pay for greater impact.鈥�
That is the thrust of a teacher licensure and pay proposal known by education policymakers as the North Carolina Pathways to Excellence for Teaching Professionals plan.
The plan would create new entry points to earn a teaching license that would rely on multiple measures of a teacher's effectiveness, not only licensing exams. It would also compensate teachers who take on leadership roles to mentor others, much like the state鈥檚 advanced teaching roles pilot program.
When the plan first came before the state board last spring, the North Carolina Association of Educators came out against it. The plan has been criticized by some teachers for the way it would restructure their pay to be based on measures of effectiveness 鈥� like student test scores, and evaluations by principals and students 鈥� rather than their years of service.
A later committee draft recommended continuing teachers鈥� annual step raises for experience once they reach a full license level. The Department of Public Instruction has continued to rework the initial plan through working groups and committees over the past year.
Today the state board approved broad recommendations for a pilot program, rather than detailed statewide changes to how teachers are licensed and paid. The recommendations are for a voluntary pilot project at 5-to-15 school districts to try out a new licensing and pay model.
The recommendations will go to the General Assembly for consideration to draft a bill to support the pilot. The state board is recommending a full planning year before implementing a pilot in volunteer school districts, during which time the board and committees would hash out more details.
