The short and simple answer is ‘NO’. The NC Senate has been touting that the most recent budget has given teachers the highest pay raise in North Carolina state history.
“The $282 million dollars invested in teacher pay with this budget will be the largest teacher pay increase in state history, moving North Carolina from 46th in the nation to 32nd in the nation in national teacher pay rankings,” Berger said.
A little fact checking can easily prove that is not the case. This year the General Assembly gave teachers an average 7% pay increase that cost approximately $282 million dollars.
Lets look at a few years that were higher than the most recent enacted pay increase….
- In FY 2006-07 teachers received a pay increase between 6.45% to 14.05% with an average 8.23% increase
- In both FY 1997-98 and FY 1998-99 teachers received increases between 4% and 9%
- In FY 1994-95 teachers having worked between 4 and 29 years received a 7% salary increase
- In FY1985-86 teachers received 10% plus a 4.8% salary classification adjustment
That isn’t the whole list, but it gives a snapshot of the last thirty years in North Carolina and how a 7% pay increase is clearly not the highest pay increase in state history.
