Here’s the House budget, proposed on May 16 and passed on May 19. It includes small teacher pay raises. They average 3% but are structured so that teachers in the middle of their careers get more than new or veteran teachers. Those teachers would get bonuses of $1,000, paid throughout the year, rather than salary increases. Those bonuses would however, count toward retirement. The main budget writer for the House, Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake) stated that “the House’s goal is to see us be at or above the average teacher salary for the Southeast.” This is a lower goal than seeking to reach the national average, and we are currently 9th out of the 12 Southeastern states.
The NCAE has more highlights of the education budget:
- Provides $46.8 million for enrollment growth of nearly 5,900 students.
- Replaces $57.3 million in General Fund dollars with lottery money to pay for non-instructional support personnel. This area is now fully-supported by lottery funds, which should be used to enhance education funding, not supplant current General Fund spending on schools.
- Provides $25 million for literacy coaches to support Read to Achieve, but would mean elimination of the first-grade class size reduction passed last year and reduction in reading camp funds.
- Provides $11.6 million in one-time funds for textbooks and digital materials. We would remain about 34 percent below pre-recession levels.
- Provides $5 million in one-time funds for instructional supplies. We would remain about 50 percent below pre-recession levels.
- Provides $1.3 million to reinstate funding for salary supplements to instructional coaches who have earned National Board Certification.
- Provides $5.8 million in additional private school voucher funds for Special Education Scholarship grants.
- Provides $1.1 million for a differentiated pay pilot similar to Project LIFT in Charlotte.
- Provides $4.3 million for $50 dollar bonuses for Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate teachers for each student who scores highly on exams or CTE teachers whose students pass industry certifications.
- Provides $2 million in the university budget for a N.C. Scholarship for Teacher Advancement and Retention program similar to the N.C. Teaching Fellows program previously eliminated.
- Modifies A-F letter grading system of schools from 80 percent performance and 20 percent growth to 50-50. It would also keep the 15-point system in place.
- In addition, Health & Human Services budget writers approved spending $4 million more to fund an additional 800 pre-K slots.
You can also see NC DPI’s comparison of the governor’s proposal and the House budget here.