NEA ranks North Carolina 34th in average teacher salaries in 2022

North Carolina has improved this school year – instead of losing ground as originally reported – in the National Teachers Association’s annual report on teachers ’salaries.

Last week, the NEA initially estimated that North Carolina the new average teacher’s salary was $ 53,644lowering the staff from 38th place last year to a projected 40th ranking this school year.

But citing new data, NEA officials said Monday that the report would revise the average salary of $ 54,863, which moved North Carolina to 34th place out of 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The updated figure is still lower The average teacher’s salary is estimated at $ 55,905 that the state Department of Public Education listed in a new report that was also released last week. If you use that figure, North Carolina will be 32nd on the NEA list, but still well below the nation’s average salary of $ 66,397.

“I think the questionable NEA methodology raises legitimate doubts about the ranking of teachers’ salaries in North Carolina,” said Terry Stoops, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation. “The case of state salaries is a more accurate rating.

“I’m going to trust education officials in our education department before trusting the figures of the Teachers’ Union in Washington, DC.”

NC fluctuates in NEA salary rankings

Teacher pay and state rankings in NEA’s annual salary report have been major policy issues for decades.

In North Carolina, the state pays the base salary of most teachers, and this year added a new surcharge to teachers ’salaries in 95 of the state’s 100 counties. In addition, school districts often supplement state fees.

The State Board of Education will consider a new model being developed by the committee that requires it pay teachers depending on their performance unlike their years of experience.

The state reached number 20 on the NEA list in 2001, but dropped to 47th in 2013 after the recession. In the 2018-19 school year, the state ranking again reached 31st place.

The North Carolina Teachers Association, an affiliate of NEA, has for many years lobbied for higher salaries for teachers and other school staff.

NEA changes NC payroll calculation

NEA officials said they used the best data they had last week when they reported a new estimate of the state’s average teacher’s salary of $ 53,644. Citing a new DPI report, the NEA says it will update the state’s average salary by an additional $ 1,200.

But the NEA will still report a lower figure than the DPI. NEA has decided this year to calculate only the base salary and surcharge and no longer include things like bonuses and vacations.

The NEA says the decision to no longer calculate bonus payments is in line with the group’s definition and the way other states report their salary data.

“The NEA opposes efforts to reform pay based on teacher efficiency and effectiveness, so it’s no surprise that it won’t include bonuses,” said Lauren Horsch, a spokeswoman for Republican Senate leader Phil Berger. “This ‘recalculation’ looks like a coordinated effort to downgrade states for not using the NEA’s preferential pay scale.”

NEA has used a new methodology to retroactively reduce the average salary by state and its rating over the past two years. The newly calculated average salary of $ 53,458 for the 2020-21 school year put the state in 38th place. According to the old formula, the state was rated 33rd last school year.

NC should be a “top level state”

In addition, in the 2020-21 school year, according to the NEA, North Carolina ranked 41st in spending per student, averaging $ 3308 per child.

Democratic Party leader Robert Reves said there is no reason for the state to be at the bottom when it comes to spending per student and paying teachers. He said at least North Carolina should be on average across the country when it comes to supporting public schools

“We have the economic capacity to be a top-level state when it comes to spending on education,” Raves said in an interview. “I think we have the population to support it. I think we have a tax base to support that. ”

But Horsch, Berger’s spokeswoman, noted how the DPI shows that North Carolina ranks third in the southeast in terms of average teacher salaries.

“Republicans have done away with the Democrat budget on the roller coaster, which has led to lower teachers’ salaries and a freeze in poor years,” Horsch said. “As a result, North Carolina teachers have been receiving consistent wage increases since Republicans gained control of the General Assembly ten years ago.”

News researcher David Raynor has contributed.