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As budget is considered, principals request reconsideration to proposed changes to their pay

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Principal Donna Bledsoe greets a student. Mebane Rash/EdNC

Update, 2:45 p.m. — On Thursday afternoon, before adjourning, the General Assembly passed the budget and a technical corrections bill to the budget, essentially delaying the new principal pay salary and supplement schedule until January 2027. Below is a look at the salary schedule now in place through Dec. 31, 2026, including the 3% raise.

Screenshot from technical correction bill.

A coalition of current education leaders and former North Carolina Principals of the Year submitted a letter to the chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on Wednesday requesting reconsideration of proposed budget language that would change how North Carolina principals receive a portion of their earned salaries.

In an email to EdNC, the coalition says:

The proposed language does not reduce a principal’s annual salary, but it would withhold a significant portion of many principals’ monthly pay until supplemental payments are made later in the year. For many school leaders, this would mean monthly reductions ranging from several hundred dollars to more than $1,600, despite those earnings already being earned through prior years of school performance.

Quite simply, we cannot identify a policy or fiscal reason for making this change. It does not reduce state spending, improve accountability, or increase efficiency. Instead, it creates unnecessary financial instability for principals who have already earned placement on higher salary schedules.

North Carolina has worked hard to recruit and retain exceptional school leaders during a time when principal shortages continue to challenge school districts across the state. We should be removing barriers for these leaders, not creating new ones.

Our request is straightforward: halt this proposed change to the payment schedule while policymakers, education leaders, and stakeholders work together on meaningful, comprehensive reform of North Carolina’s principal compensation system. We believe there is broad agreement that the current principal pay structure deserves thoughtful improvement, but withholding earned monthly compensation is not the solution.

This request is not for additional funding or increased compensation. It simply asks that principals continue receiving their earned salaries through equal monthly installments, as they have under the current system, until a more comprehensive and equitable compensation model can be developed.

We appreciate the General Assembly’s continued investment in public education and remain hopeful that this unintended consequence can be addressed before the state budget is finalized.

Here is the letter: