NC average teacher pay rises to 35th in the nation

Average pay for North Carolina teachers ranks 35th in the nation, according to estimates released Wednesday by the National Education Association.

The NEA teacher rankings have been used as a measuring stick for legislators and education groups to gauge the adequacy of teacher pay.

This school year, the average teacher salary is $49,837.

Last year, average teacher salaries ranked 41st. A few years ago, average salaries had fallen to near the bottom of national rankings.

The report comes as the state is beginning debates over raises that will be part of next year’s budget.

The state Senate has proposed an average 3.7 percent raise for teachers in its budget. The money is not distributed evenly. Beginning teachers and those with 25 years experience or more would not get more money, while the biggest raises would go to teachers with nine to 14 years experience.

Gov. Roy Cooper has proposed teacher raises that would average 5 percent in the first year and another 5 percent the following year. He said it would bring teacher pay to the national average in five years.

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 12:46 PM with the headline "NC average teacher pay rises to 35th in the nation."