Julie Ball

jball@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE - Despite raises state lawmakers say will boost average teacher pay to more than $50,000 a year, some Western North Carolina school districts will likely remain below that average.

Some of that is because of the make-up of the workforce. Teachers with more experience, master’s degrees and National Board Certification make more money. The more of those teachers in a district, the higher the average pay. If a district has more beginning teachers, that brings the average down.

In WNC, wide variations in supplement pay also drag down salary averages. The state sets base pay. Most counties then add to that, but they are not required to.

That $50,000 figure touted by state lawmakers when they approved the raises earlier this year includes those local supplements.

"There’s a great discrepancy across the state and across Western North Carolina," said veteran Buncombe County teacher Jan Caldwell. "Younger teachers are making decisions on where to teach and where to live based on the supplement."

Caldwell has a son who is a new teacher in Wake County. He gets a local supplement of around 18 percent. That's higher than the local supplement for Caldwell, a 39-year veteran teacher in Buncombe County.

Wake schools’ teacher pay supplement can increase to up to 23.25 percent of base pay depending on years of experience.

In contrast, some mountain counties pay as little as $100 in supplements. A few offer no supplement.

Jackson County has a 2 percent teacher supplement. That boosts the average teacher salary from $43,956 to $44,835 a year, according to Superintendent Mike Murray.

“It is very misleading when you hear that ($50,000 figure) because it makes it looks like 50 percent of my teachers are making $50,000 or more,” Murray said.

About 28 percent of Jackson teachers make $50,000 or more per year when the supplement is included, Murray said.

Political issue

The issue of teacher pay is in the spotlight again as the election draws near.

Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and Democratic challenger Roy Cooper have traded charges over teacher pay.

Cooper says on his website that North Carolina teacher pay ranked 41st in the nation in 2016.

Meanwhile, McCrory has touted recent teacher pay raises that are expected to boost North Carolina’s ranking. At a budget signing event, the governor stood in front of a large banner that read “Teacher Pay to 50K.”

"We are confident that teacher pay will get to $50,000 given calculations by the State Budget Office that take into account both the teacher universe and teacher turnover," the governor's press office said in response to questions. "A random sampling of teachers in one or more schools or even one or more LEAs (local school districts) may not accurately reflect what we're seeing statewide."

Stephanie Stroupe, who teaches at Pisgah Elementary, says friends and family have heard that $50,000 figure and think that's what she makes, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

Stroupe and her husband are both teachers and until recently he worked a second job. He is in his eighth year and she is in her fifth full year.

Neither of them makes $50,000 a year.

Average teacher compensation was increasing in North Carolina until about 2008 when the recession hit and salaries were frozen. They stayed flat for several years and the gap between the state average and the national average for teacher pay widened.

State lawmakers took steps to raise teacher pay in 2014 with their focus on beginning teachers. This year's budget gave the largest increases to those teachers on the job 10-25 years. Lawmakers also approved bonuses for some teachers that are tied to student performance.

State lawmakers say the latest raises are part of a three-year plan to get the average to nearly $55,000 a year. The national average was $57,420 in 2014-15, according to a report from the National Education Association.

The North Carolina average teacher compensation in 2015-16 was $47,931, according to estimates from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The average for the current school year is not yet available.

That state average includes more than just base state salary and local supplements. It also includes extra pay teachers got as tutors or mentors, any bonuses teachers received and accrued annual leave pay that a teacher received after leaving the job.

That figure is also based on state-paid teachers. School districts typically use local dollars to pay the lowest-paid teachers. State funds typically pay for the more veteran teachers.

WNC districts

Putting those things aside and just focusing only on salaries and supplements, some districts in WNC remain below the $50,000 mark.

In Asheville City Schools, average teacher pay for this year — based on recent raises and the supplemental pay offered with local funding — is a little more than $48,300, according to Charlotte Sullivan, executive director of finance for Asheville City Schools.

About 37 percent of city schools’ teachers earn $50,000 or more.

For Buncombe County Schools, which also boosted the local supplement this summer, average pay is $49,458. That includes the state raises and recent increases in the local supplement.

The Buncombe County district historically has a high number of teachers with National Board Certification.

Buncombe school officials say 41.5 percent of the district’s 1,615 teachers earn $50,000 or more.

That compares to about 25 percent of teachers in Yancey County, where the annual supplement is $300. The average pay there is $44,945, according to school officials.

In Graham County, teachers receive a $100 supplement. Average teacher pay in Graham County Schools is $44,845, according to school finance officials.

Of Graham’s 91 teachers, 60 percent have been on the job for 15 years or less. But turnover in the district is low. In 2015, Graham County teacher turnover was only 5.75 percent, well below the state average.

One exception in the mountains is Clay County, which doesn’t have a supplement, but has a higher average pay.

Average pay for teachers is $52,872, according to Superintendent Mark Leek. Leek said over 38 percent of Clay teachers make more than $50,000 a year.

The district has about 100 teachers. The superintendent says the make-up of the workforce, with more National Board Certified teachers and teachers with advanced degrees, helps pull up that average.

Transylvania County has an 8.5 percent supplement for teachers. Average pay for 283 classroom teachers is $48,388 with the supplement.

“We’re very fortunate in Transylvania and Buncombe and Henderson that we have a local supplement. Some of our folks west of us don’t,” said Jeff McDaris, Transylvania County Superintendent.

About 25 percent of Transylvania County teachers are at or above the $50,000 figure when it comes to salary and supplement.

Caldwell is at the upper end of the pay scale. She has a master's degree and National Board Certification.

New teachers joining North Carolina schools no longer can earn additional pay if they have a master's degree.

Caldwell said it might make more sense to look at salary ranges, she said. For a teacher with a bachelor's degree, state base pay starts at $35,000 a year and increases over time to $51,000 at year 25.

The state base for someone who had a master's degree before North Carolina did away with master's pay goes up to $57,120 at year 25. For a veteran teacher with a master's degree and National Board Certification, the salary scale goes to $62,220 at year 25. But the salary schedule is now capped at year 25.

Caldwell said Buncombe County’s supplement increase meant she didn’t see less money this year. She’s one of the teachers on the high end of the pay scale who didn’t get a raise. Last year, those teachers got a bonus, but this year, they were not included in the pay raises.

Caldwell is grateful to Buncombe County, but worries about inequities from school district to school district in Western North Carolina.

Stroupe says she knows people who have moved from other counties to Buncombe where they receive a higher local supplement.

Teacher supplements vary widely in North Carolina