Stein praises teacher pay, education investments in NC budget

On Aug. 20, Gov. Josh Stein held a press conference during which he praised the education investments in the budget, including teacher pay raises, investing in high-performing principals, and investments in teacher recruitment and retention. 

“This budget represents an important step forward; it delivers the largest average teacher pay raise in North Carolina in about 20 years, and the largest increase in starting teacher pay in about 50 years,” said Stein. “It is real money raises that begin to show our teachers we value them and start to catch up to our neighboring states. But there’s more work to be done to support our teachers, especially our veteran teachers. Even with these much-needed pay raises, we still rank 40th in the country in teacher pay.” 

Stein emphasized that more work remains to be done and that he sees the budget as a “launching pad, not a landing spot,” promising to continue fighting for better pay for school personnel. While Stein said a 3% raise and a minimum bonus of $1000 is “clearly better than nothing,” he insisted that it is insufficient for principals, bus drivers, teachers’ assistants, cafeteria workers, and other state school employees. He said “we can do better by them.” According to Stein, without this budget, North Carolina would rank 47th in the nation in teacher pay, lower than all our neighboring states.

“I give the legislature and governor credit for passing a state budget that makes some needed investments, boosting teacher pay and aligning incentives,” Robert Luebke, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “We all know, however, the way we pay teachers — via a salary schedule — doesn’t work. This must be changed. If we don’t, we’ll continue to cheat teachers, students, and taxpayers.” 

The budget also invests in teacher recruitment and retention through apprenticeships, professional development, and improvements to licensure. The timeline for launching teacher apprentices was accelerated by a full year, moving it up this year. 

“It’s exciting progress because we’re going to connect more young people to the most rewarding of professions, and that’s teaching,” said Stein. 

The budget invests in student outcomes via programs such as the science of reading and advanced teaching roles, according to Stein. He explained how he saw these programs operate in practice at Blueford STEM Academy in Greensboro. 

“The budget strengthens public schools in a number of other important ways,” said Stein. “First, it enhances math education in our schools. Getting a strong early foundation in math sets students up for success throughout their careers and their educational schooling. That’s why the state is ensuring that we have high standards for math learning. And alongside those high standards, we’re providing resources to help resources for math screening for intervention plans and for professional development for math teachers and low-performing schools. We’re excited to support teachers in these efforts and to help our students thrive.”

Incentivizing high-performing principals to strengthen struggling schools is also included in the budget. 

“We know what a difference an incredible principle can make in a school,” said Stein. “A principal with a demonstrated record of turning schools around can produce both immediate and lasting academic benefits. For a few years now, the state has run an innovative program to attract our highest performing principals to our lowest performing schools.” 

If a principal moves to a qualifying low-performing school, they are eligible to receive a $30,000 annual salary supplement, according to Stein. Districts leveraging this investment are reporting better student growth scores and teacher retention rates. 

“I’m pleased to share that this program is going to be extended by the budget through these investments,” said Stein. “We recognize and reward our excellent principles, and we put even more students on a path to academic success.”

As an example of this program’s success, Stein introduced LaTresha Wilson, the 2026 Southwest Region Principal of the Year. Wilson is the principal of Tuckaseegee Elementary School (TES) in Charlotte. 

Under Wilson’s leadership, Tuckaseegee has gone from a D-grade school to a B-grade school in just two years and is now among the top 5% in the state for growth, according to Wilson.

“Stein praises teacher pay, education investments in NC budget” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.