27-02-2025
North Carolina teacher salaries could increase by $9,000 to $12,000 if new bill passes
RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — North Carolina lawmakers have filed a bill proposing thousands of dollars in teacher pay increases across the state.
House Bill 192 was filed on Tuesday, and the primary sponsors of the bill are Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth), Rep. Erin Pare (R-Wake), Rep. Mike Schietzelt (R-Wake) and Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg).
It aims to increase teacher salaries, reinstate education-based salary supplements and direct the North Carolina Collaboratory to assess the proposal's feasibility and impact on school districts.
The bill would increase starting salaries for teachers based on their experience and education level, but a new teacher could expect to bring in around $50,000, up from the current starting pay of $41,000. Teachers with over 25 years of experience would see an increase from $55,950 to $68,230.
Here is the proposed monthly pay included in the bill:
The bill would also provide salary supplements for board-certified teachers and teachers with advanced degrees. A National Board Certification would net a teacher a 12% supplement, and a master's degree would provide 10%, so those amounts would be in addition to the monthly salaries proposed in the above table.
Other school staff, such as nurses, counselors and audiologists, could also receive salary supplements.
The salary supplements proposed are a return to pre-2013 policies that had been in place in North Carolina.
If passed, the bill would take effect on July 1, 2025.
State employee pay tends to be included with the broader budget, so a separate bill addressing it might not gain much traction. However, Lambeth, notably, is part of the House Budget Committee, so his support of the bill could signal an interest in making North Carolina's educator pay more competitive in the coming years.
North Carolina ranks near the bottom, 38th, in teacher pay, according to the National Education Association. The average teacher's salary in North Carolina is $13,000 below the national average.
Read the full text of the bill here.
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