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Channel 9 puts education ads in the governor's race to the Truth Test

Teacher pay is one of the hottest topics right now in the race for North Carolina governor.

Political ads are flying from both sides about Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's record on teacher pay and turnover.  Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke asked him one on one about education.

McCrory is running an ad that says he "gave teachers the largest pay raise in the country" and that "average teacher pay next year will be over $50,000."

But Democrat Roy Cooper is running an ad saying that the state has "fallen to 41st in teacher pay" and that more than 2,000 teachers are moving to other states.

North Carolina Citizens for Protecting our Schools has an anti-McCrory ad, saying that "tax breaks that could have helped schools (were) diverted to tax cuts for wealthy and big corporations."

Here's the truth:
  • McCrory did give North Carolina teachers a 6.3 percent raise, the biggest in the country.
  • The average teacher here could earn more than $50,000. But averages are tricky. Many teachers won't make that much. A few highly paid ones could inflate the average. Projections rely on certain factors being true but those might not happen. Some local governments supplement teacher pay, making the average higher, but state leaders shouldn't take credit for that. "It gives the impression that a lot of teachers will [make $50,000], but there are a lot of teachers who won't come close."  McCrory told Stoogenke. "I'm saying the average teacher pay, but when I came into office, the starting teacher pay was $30,000 a year, base salary across North Carolina.  We've moved that up to $35,000 a year," McCrory said.
  • Before McCrory was elected, North Carolina ranked almost last in teacher pay.  It's climbed since he took office, but only to 41st. "We're still only at 41st," Stoogenke told , to which he replied: "We're getting it lower. In fact, next year, we'll be dropping it down to 34th in the nation," and more if cost of living is included. McCrory is basing that on a few things: that the average teacher will make $50,000 and that figure would put the state near Maine, which ranks 33rd.
  • McCrory's critics are right: More than 2,000 teachers have left the state, including the one in Cooper's ad. But North Carolina has actually gained thousands more teachers than it has lost on McCrory's watch, and the final numbers aren't in yet. Then again, student enrollment has climbed as well.
  • The North Carolina Association of Educators is endorsing Cooper for governor. The group points to Cooper's record on education when he was in the General Assembly about 25 years ago. "Roy Cooper is a champion for public education," Mark Jewell, the group's president, said. "As attorney general, as a state lawmaker, and now as a candidate for governor, he is a strong advocate for all students having the opportunity for a quality public education, for ensuring educators  have the resources, respect and support to be successful, and for returning North Carolina to its rightful spot as a leader in public education. As Senate majority leader, he championed the effort to raise teacher pay in North Carolina to the national average and helped expand Smart Start to all 100 counties."
  • If McCrory's campaign is disappointed that the NCAE isn't endorsing him, it's not saying so.  It considers the NCAE part of the reason why the state is playing catch-up. "The teacher union's leadership along with Roy Cooper, were willing accomplices to the years of pay decline in North Carolina before Gov. McCrory took office," McCrory's campaign said. "The governor will happily take the support of hardworking teachers and parents any day of the week over the support of the state's flailing teachers union leadership."