Teachers react to pay raise in new state budget

CHARLOTTE — New teachers in North Carolina are about to get higher starting salaries; the new state budget includes the largest starting teacher raise in decades.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board Chair Stephanie Sneed says a teacher needs to make $63,000 a year in order to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Charlotte. Sneed called the raises in the budget “a great start.”

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Though state leaders praised how the newly passed budget supports teacher raises, longtime educators told Channel 9 Education Reporter Jonathan Lowe that it’s important to read the fine print.

“Some got a heck of a lot more, some got a heack of a lot less, veteran teachers really got shafted, again,” said Steve Orescovic a middle school teacher who has been with CMS about three decades.

In the budget, $12.5 billion is going to K-12 education, supporting an average of 8% raises for teachers. The starting salary for beginning teachers now rises to between $41,000 and $48,000, just below the national average. But in districts like CMS, the pay will clear $50,000.

“Our beginning teachers are at $48,000, and that’s due to our county supplement, so it will be 8% on top of that,” Sneed said.

Lowe asked Sneed if that was a living wage in Charlotte.

“No, it’s not,” Sneed said.

Effectively, beginning teachers in North Carolina are getting a 17% raise.

“Particularly, more money goes to new teachers as opposed to those that are veteran teachers,” Sneed said.

That’s impacting educators like Orescovic.

“A 5.5% increase with inflation as it is, almost comes out to be negative, especially when you add in rising healthcare costs,” Orescovic said.

In addition to the average 5% raise for experienced teachers, other school employees are getting an average of 3%.

“Our bus drivers, our cafeteria workers, all of those individuals need support as well,” Sneed said.

In a statement, the CMS board called the raises a “one-time bonus” and said that while they may provide short-term relief, it doesn’t incrase an educator’s base salary, strengthen retirement benefits, or provide sustained income that supports long-term financial stability.

The budget is retroactive to July, so educators will see those raises in their upcoming paychecks.