MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — A new report by the National Education Association shows teachers in Carolinas have some of the lowest starting salaries in the country.
According to the teacher’s advocacy organization, North Carolina ranks 46th in the country for starting pay and South Carolina ranks 40th.
It comes as there are once again discussions happening right now in the state houses about what kind of pay raises teachers can expect next year.
The North Carolina House wants to give teachers an average 10.2% raise over the next two years. However, Gov. Roy Cooper has proposed an 18% raise. The state senate’s proposal has yet to be released.
As school districts wait for lawmakers in Raleigh to give a final number on teacher raises, they’re vying for extra dollars on the county level to supplement teacher pay.
"I can't afford to live here," Beth Thompson, Assistant Superintendent of Strategy Management for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, said about what teachers said in a survey this school year. "I want to teach I can't take care of my children and live here. I can only teach if I have a spouse or significant other or partner so that we have a dual-income household."
As CMS teachers struggle to live in the city they teach, the district is expected to approve a budget recommendation Tuesday that includes an ask from Mecklenburg County for $6 million to increase teacher supplements.
It all comes against a backdrop of North Carolina ranking as one of the lowest in the country for teacher pay according to a new report by NEA.
NEA President Becky Pringle said low teacher pay has direct implications on children’s learning.
"We know that they need qualified certified teachers in every subject area," Pringle said. "So that they [students] can learn and live and thrive ad we know it has a direct impact on not only their academic learning but also on their social and emotional learning."
North Carolina teachers are about $5,000 behind the average starting salary of a teacher in the U.S.
Neighboring South Carolina is ranked 40th in the country for starting pay, which puts them about $4,000 behind the average starting salary of a teacher in the U.S.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.