Two out-of-the-box ideas for N.C. teacher pay
If we want great teachers, we need a smarter way to pay them
As a general rule, I don’t write about bills when they’re first filed. You can put together a bill on just about anything (yes, even diversity in pickleball), so there’s no sense getting worked up until it’s actually getting voted on.
But I made an exception for this one: Rep. Erin Paré’s House Bill 192, which would raise entry-level teacher salaries to $50,000.
The Charlotte Observer/News & Observer published my column on it yesterday, which you can read here: Republicans are finally leading again on teacher pay
You can get the gist of the column from the headline. It’s a good bill. But the deeper theme is this: Teacher pay debates shouldn’t just be about how much to raise salaries. Instead, we need a smarter approach that structures teacher pay in a way that actually improves education.
The column doesn’t get much into the nitty gritty details of what this would look like, but I have a few ideas.
Peg entry-level pay to a benchmark
North Carolina universities publish data on the average starting salaries of their graduates. I like the idea of pegging our entry level teacher salary to a certain percentage of that pay — say, 120% of the average starting salary of a humanities graduate.
Not all of the data is readily available, but I found some for the Observer piece. Let’s use this data point to illustrate: N.C. State humanities majors earn, on average, a starting salary of $47,000.
If that holds, the target entry level teacher salary would become $56,400. If graduates start earning $55,000 as an average starting salary, teacher pay bumps up to $66,000.
The idea is to keep entry-level teacher salaries competitive with alternative paths these types of students could take. And because teaching is so important, we give them just a bit more incentive.
Set merit-based salary targets
I’m super tired of looking at the salary schedules. I get why the state does it, but it’s such an outmoded way of paying people that simply doesn’t make sense.
Instead, North Carolina could move to career ladder benchmarks tied to performance.
We can say something like: At five years in, if you're an excellent teacher, you'll be making $70,000. At 10 years in, you'll be at $85,000. By age 40, you'll be at $100,000 — but again, only if you are an excellent teacher.
This becomes a way to motivate and retain good teachers. That type of sales pitch would make North Carolina a magnet for high-caliber talent that hates being tied down to a rigid schedule.
Why do it this way?
This type of system would be borderline nightmarish to set up and administer. I get that. But North Carolina doesn’t really have a choice.
We’re stuck in a rut debating "how much is enough?" and there's never an answer. No matter what Republicans offer in terms of raises, a Democratic governor is going to say we need more.
The way I see it, our teacher pay program needs to do three things:
Draw in high-caliber teaching talent from across the country year after year.
Retain and motivate the best teachers in North Carolina.
Gently encourage lower-quality teachers to find a new job.
These two ideas are just my first attempt at getting us there.
Quick hits
My Observer column last week was a reaction to President Donald Trump’s address to the joint session of Congress. Read it here: President Trump just showed NC Republicans how to respond to critics
The Differentiators consultant Jim Blaine has an excellent analysis of a new PPP poll showing former Gov. Roy Cooper slightly ahead of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis in a hypothetical matchup.
Speaking of Tillis, another long-shot candidate has said he’ll run for U.S. Senate in 2026. Don Brown, a conservative attorney and author and retired Navy officer, announced on X on Sunday that he’d challenge Tillis in the Republican primary. Last year, Brown ran in the primary election for the vacant 8th Congressional District seat previously held by Dan Bishop. He came in fourth in the six-person primary ultimately won by now-U.S. Rep. Mark Harris. Brown got 10.5% of the vote. Brown joins Andy Nilsson, a Winston-Salem educator, as announced candidates.
The John Locke Foundation finds that the total amount of money raised by General Assembly candidates last year was $80 million, split almost exactly down the middle between the House and Senate. Republican candidates slightly outraised Democrats. If you split it among 340 general election candidates, it’s about $235,300 each.
Make North Carolina healthy again? I’m looking forward to seeing this bill: Rep. Jonathan Almond told the Do Politics Better podcast this week that he’s working on a bill to change requirements for school lunches. “A lot of kids can't help what school they go to, and can't help what's served there. They have to eat whatever is served there,” he said. “If we expect them to sit there and try to learn this material that's so important, they need to have good nutrition."
At a premium
Important reads
Thom Tillis’ Spat With Trump Advisers Raises a New Reelection Challenge (The Assembly)
Chair 'disappointed' Meck Dems ended up spending $106,000 on election night watch party (WCNC)
Labor commissioner pushes to cut red tape for small businesses in western NC (Carolina Journal)
Top spenders on social media this week
Question of the week
Last week, I asked you about reader interaction, and the results were overwhelming: 93% of you opted for the reader mailbag column. I’d like to start that this week.
Hit reply or send me an email at andrew@longleafpol.com with your question and I’ll answer the best on Friday.
Priority for answering will go to Premium subscribers, but don’t be shy about sending me a note regardless.
This week, I’ll ask about teacher pay.