Gov Announces Education Initiative and Teacher Salary Increase

Governor Pat McCrory announced yesterday a sweeping array of education initiatives that will increase teacher pay, provide in-state tuition for newly separated veterans, increase funding for textbooks and establish salary supplements for teachers who obtain advanced degrees in a subject they are teaching. “For years, teachers have suffered through little to no pay raises as the state had to endure one of the toughest economic recessions in generations,” said Governor McCrory.  In February, the governor announced he would work to increase the base pay for North Carolina teachers to $35,000. The “Career Pathways for Teachers” framework the governor unveiled at North Carolina Agricultural and Technological University is the follow up of the February announcement.  Raises for veteran teachers is the first step of the framework. Teachers in steps 8-12 will receive increases ranging from 2.8 to 4.3 percent. Teachers in steps 13-36 will average a pay hike of 2 percent. Beyond these raises, the Career Pathways for Teachers framework establishes a pay structure that allows individual teachers to significantly increase their compensation beyond their base pay. In addition to the Career Pathways for Teachers framework, the governor announced:  He will increase funding for early childhood education by $3.6 million, He will seek salary supplements for teachers who earn advanced degrees in the subjects they are teaching, He will double state funding for textbooks to $46 million, He will work to establish a scholarship fund for newly separated veterans for in-state tuition at University of North Carolina institutions, and State employees will receive a raise of $1,000 including benefits.