Union County school board gives itself $200 pay raise. Opponents say it’s an ‘insult’
.png "A crowd packs the Union County Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 5. A large group of people attended to speak up about immigrant student protections. The board later voted to give themselves a raise.")
The Union County Public Schools board on Tuesday voted to increase their own stipends in a contentious meeting. One board member called it “an insult” to teachers.
UCPS board members currently receive a monthly stipend of $750, with the board chair receiving a monthly stipend of $900. With the increase, board members will receive a monthly stipend of $950 while the board chair will receive a monthly stipend of $1,100.
The increase, which passed by a narrow vote of 5-4, will go into effect retroactively to July 2024. In total, the increase will cost the district an additional $23,252 per year and will require approval by the Union County Board of Commissioners.
Opponents of the increase to board stipends said raising teacher pay should be the top priority, rather than giving board members a raise.
UCPS teacher pay
Starting teachers in Union County currently receive a base yearly supplement of $5,300. That applies to all UCPS teachers currently in their first 8 years of teaching. When combined with the state-alloted salary, starting teachers make $46,300 this school year in UCPS.
The living wage for a single, childless adult in Union County is currently just over $50,900, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator.
“I believe we all know that we are not on this board to pay our bills, and it is an insult to every teacher in this county that is working hard every day,” board member John Kirkpatrick said Tuesday. “I think that this should not even be on this agenda, and I will not be voting for that.”
He was met with applause from the audience in attendance.
Board member Kathy Heintel agreed.
“We have to do something for our teachers this year,” she said. “We have to give money to teacher supplements, not to us as board members.”
Heintel pointed out that Union County ranks 50th of 115 school districts in the state for its teacher supplement. Meanwhile, it is the sixth largest school district in the state. Of the 12 largest school districts, only Cumberland County Schools and Gaston County Schools have lower teacher supplements this year.
“I’m definitely a ‘no’ on this,” board member Sarah May said of the proposal. “We know that the state situation is probably not going to show our teachers getting a big increase. The only way we can do it is with a local supplement, and do we have a plan for that? Because I think that should be the priority.”
How common are board stipends?
More boards are starting to pay their members, but it’s still more common for boards of education to provide no compensation aside of reimbursement for expenses. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Chair Stephanie Sneed, for example, received $26,965 last fiscal year and member Dee Rankin received $21,573, according to The Charlotte Observer’s salary database.
Of the 12 largest public school districts in the state, all some amount in board pay.
Proponents of the stipend increase, including UCPS Board Chair Jimmy Bention, said they wanted to raise it to more closely match board stipends in some other large districts.
“I want to make sure this board is properly compensated. We’re going to always have needs,” said Bention. “I’m in favor of this simply because I want to see that this board is properly compensated.”
Another board member argued the teacher supplement had already been increased between last school year and this one.
“Didn’t we already give them supplements though?” asked board member Sandra Greene.
When the vote was announced, several audience members reacted audibly, with one saying “Y’all are going to have some pissed off teachers,” before being asked to leave.
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 3:26 PM.
CORRECTION: School boards for all of the largest 12 public districts in North Carolina, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, receive some kind of pay. A previous version of this story was incorrect.
