NC lawmakers didn’t pass a state budget. How it’s led to a drop in teacher pay
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Budget impasse blocked new raises, contributing to a 1% drop in average pay.
- DPI reports average teacher compensation fell to $60,984 this year.
- GOP split over tax-cut plans helped stall the budget, amid departures and protests.
A new state report shows how North Carolina’s average teacher pay has dropped amid the ongoing state budget impasse that has held up new pay raises for educators.
The “Highlights of the North Carolina Public School Budget” report released this month by the state Department of Public Instruction shows average teacher compensation dropped 1% this school year. North Carolina was the only state that failed to pass a budget last year, resulting in no agreement to provide new raises for teachers and state employees.
Public education supporters say the new state data shows North Carolina is losing ground at a time when it already ranks near the bottom nationally on average teacher pay.
“The new Highlights of the NC Public School Budget report shows NC average teacher salaries falling even further behind the national average,” Public Schools First NC said in a Facebook post this month. “This is the result of decisions by the state legislature. Contact your lawmakers and ask what they’re doing to fix the problem!”
The offices of state House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger did not immediately return a request for comment Monday from The News & Observer.
NC ranks in the middle in Southeast in teacher pay
The only state raises funded this year were longevity-based raises to teachers and those state employees who are on a step-increase raise system.
For most North Carolina teachers, the state pay scale tops out at $53,880 after 15 years of experience. But experienced teachers don’t get another step increase until they complete 25 years in the classroom and get a state bump to $55,950.
Teachers can earn more money from things such as local salary supplements, completing National Board certification and performance bonuses based on the test scores of their students.
Based on the DPI report, average teacher compensation dropped to $60,984 this school year. It was $61,435 last school year.
In addition, North Carolina ranks 6th in the Southeast out of 12 states in average teacher compensation. Georgia is No. 1 on the list that also includes Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, MIssissippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Will NC drop in average teacher salary rankings?
Annually, the National Education Association releases a rankings report based on base salary and supplemental pay. By that metric, DPI says North Carolina’s average teacher salary dropped to $59,971 this school year from $60,323 last year.
North Carolina ranked 43rd in average teacher salary in last year’s NEA report. This year’s NEA report hasn’t been released yet.
“Based on the estimates just released, we may drop even lower in the coming years,” Public Schools First NC said in a newsletter Friday.
In addition, North Carolina ranked 48th nationally in inflation-adjusted average teacher salary growth between 2002 and 2022, according to a report released in December by the Reason Foundation, a nonprofit thinktank.
The salary drop comes at a time when one in 10 North Carolina teachers leave the profession each year. School districts increasingly are relying on teachers with emergency licenses to staff classrooms.
Lack of teacher pay raises leads to protests
Teachers didn’t get new raises this school year because the Republican-controlled state legislature couldn’t agree on a budget. The House and Senate GOP leadership split over how to implement future tax cuts, the N&O previously reported.
Senate leader Phil Berger previously told the N&O the Senate is willing to discuss legislation giving teachers and state employees raises. But Berger said the House does not want to negotiate raises until they come to an agreement on whether to change up planned tax cuts.
Earlier this month, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein asked state lawmakers to fund $1.4 billion in “critical needs.” This includes increasing starting teacher pay by 13% and giving experienced teachers an average raise of 5.8%, the N&O previously reported.
“If we truly believe that North Carolina’s kids are the future, we must make the job of educating them more attractive,” Stein said Monday in a news release. “We’ve seen the impact of ideas that work, like Advanced Teaching Roles and the Science of Reading. We must invest in hiring and keeping the best teachers so kids in every classroom benefit.”
A spokeswoman for House Speaker Destin Hall previously told the N&O that the House will “continue its work to address these needs when they return for the short session this spring” and that Stein’s proposed raises “are less than those already passed by the House.”
The budget passed by the House last year would raise the starting salary for teachers to $50,000 and give teachers an average raise of 8.7% over two years, the N&O previously reported.
The lack of a state budget has led to several public protests, including a walkout by hundreds of teachers in January.
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 2:25 PM with the headline "NC lawmakers didn’t pass a state budget. How it’s led to a drop in teacher pay."
