If you receive N.C. Spin’s Spin Cycle via email, you will want to read fashion design teacher Nan Alexander’s displeasure with the average 8 percent pay increase for teachers.
Although it is difficult to describe her 948 word rant, Alexander, who teaches in Wake County, complains that the pay increase favors teachers at the lower end of the salary scale. She is right. Nevertheless, North Carolina’s starting teacher pay ranks 30th in the U.S. when adjusted for cost of living and experience, while the adjusted average pay ranks 11th in the U.S. Given this, it is a reasonable strategy to raise starting pay. It may also improve teacher retention, but the jury is still out on that one.
Since Alexander has over 30 years experience, a master’s degree, National Board certification, and is a mentor, her salary next year (if the legislature passes the increase) will be at least $67,667. This does not factor in longevity pay or supplements for other duties, which could easily raise her annual salary to over $70,000 for ten months of teaching about clothes.
