Charlotte Schools Ask for 5% Pay Bump as North Carolina Ranks 49th in School Funding
CMS Board members want the state to give teachers a 5% raise in 2024-25. This push comes as school employees deal with frozen wages. The state ranks almost last, 49th in the country, in money spent on public schools. State funding covers 60% of district expenses. In CMS, starting teachers earn $48,000, with local taxes covering $7,000 of that amount.
Workers are struggling with just a 3% raise while living costs keep rising. The budget squeeze impacts all 184 schools, affecting staff who educate 140,000 students.
“The North Carolina General Assembly is reducing teacher pay in real dollars,” said Stepanie Sneed, the Chair of the Board of Education in a letter to the North Carolina General Assembly. “These same teachers that are working tirelessly on behalf of the approximately 1.4 million students in our schools should not be forced to take a pay cut due to political discord outside of their control.”
History shows the state can make improvements. They added a 30th salary step in ’94 and began offering 12% more for National Board Certification in ’97.
Recruiting teachers gets tougher every year. Many leave because of low pay, creating holes in the large school district. Those remaining have to handle more with fewer resources.
The business community helped last fall by supporting a huge $2.5 billion school bond. Most of that money, about 80%, goes directly to pay employees. Charles Bowman got other business leaders to tackle school issues when he was in charge at Bank of America NC. De La Jara hopes the next business group leader keeps education a top priority.
Despite available tax money, schools remain underfunded. The courts continue monitoring through the Leandro case, but progress is slow.