The 2019 legislative session ended with no compromise on teacher pay raises. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed Republican leaders’ final proposal of an average 3.9% increase, calling it “inadequate.”
Teachers in North Carolina can't strike, so they've been trying to find other ways to express their displeasure at not getting a raise. There have been these things called walk-ins ... Teachers have been holding signs and saying they want more funding. They want higher salaries. —Cole del Charco
The budget stalemate also left other education funding in limbo, including money for construction projects and supplies necessary to support new curriculum. North Carolina teachers, who are prohibited from striking, demonstrated with protests last month, including picketing outside before classes.
Host Frank Stasio talks with Cole del Charco, WUNC’s Fletcher Fellow for education policy reporting, about teachers’ reactions to the funding stalemate. He also shares the latest on the almost $9 million budget shortfall in Johnston County and how mid-year teacher raises in larger counties, like Wake and Mecklenburg, widen the gap between urban and rural teacher pay.