Governor Pat McCrory announced today his proposal for an average 5 percent pay raise for state teachers and an average 3.5 percent bonus for teachers and principals during a press conference at his former high school — Ragsdale High School — in Jamestown.
The bonus will be weighed in favor of veteran teachers, with a press release stating that it will be the equivalent of a $5,000 bonus for teachers of more than 24 years.
“Two years ago, when I announced a significant teacher pay raise plan right here at Ragsdale, I promised that we would not stop there,” said Governor McCrory in a press release. “Today, I am following through on that promise and introducing an aggressive education budget that will bring average teacher pay to more than $50,000 for the first time in state history.”
The press release also lays out further details of McCrory’s education priorities for his budget, which will be unveiled later this month.
The priorities include
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A $2 million scholarship program to attract math and science teachers
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$29 million for schools to exchange textbooks for digital tablets
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Increasing education scholarship funding for students with disabilities by $5 million. This scholarship is similar to the opportunity scholarship (voucher) program, but applies only to students with disabilities.
