Fact check: Did North Carolina teachers see the largest average pay increase in the country in 2014, and was the state ranked 42nd in the country for average teacher pay that year?
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper
July 11, 2016
By Karen Shanton
Teacher pay—one of the top issues in North Carolina’s 2014 U.S. Senate election—is at the center of another closely contested race in the state this year.[1] Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Roy Cooper, clashed over the issue in their first debate on June 24.[2]
And each has made teacher pay part of the case for his candidacy. McCrory’s gubernatorial website claims, “Governor McCrory has invested in education and our teachers,” noting that, “In 2014, North Carolina teachers received the largest average pay increase in the country.”[3] A post on Cooper’s campaign site says that, “NC [Average] Teacher Pay Was Ranked 42nd For The 2014-2015 School Year.”[4][5]
Are McCrory and Cooper correct? Did North Carolina teachers see the largest average pay increase in the country in 2014, and was the state ranked 42nd in the country for average teacher pay that year?
We looked into it, and found that both candidates’ claims are backed by data. A 2016 report from the National Education Association, a public education employee union with 3 million members nationwide, puts North Carolina first in the nation for increase in average teacher pay from 2013-2014 to 2014-2015.[6][7] The same report ranks the state 42nd for average teacher pay in 2014-2015.[7]
History of teacher pay in North Carolina
In 1997, Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt proposed a four-year plan to raise teacher pay in North Carolina.[8] He worked with the Republican-controlled state House and the Democratic-controlled state Senate, including then-Senate Majority Leader Cooper, to bring the state’s average teacher pay above the national median by the time he left office in 2001.[8][9]
North Carolina remained at around the middle of the national rankings until 2009-2010, when Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue and the Democratic-controlled legislature froze teacher pay in response to the national financial crisis.[10][11][12][13] With the exception of a 1.2 percent increase in 2012-2013, the freeze continued through the Republican takeover of the state legislature in the 2010 midterms and McCrory’s first year in office.[14][15]
The pay freeze dropped North Carolina from about the middle of the rankings for average teacher pay in 2008-2009 to 43rd in the nation the year before McCrory took office.[16][17]
Changes to teacher pay in 2014-2015
McCrory and the Republican-controlled legislature restructured teacher pay in North Carolina as part of the budget adjustments process for 2014-2015. They replaced the previous state salary schedule with a six-tier schedule, raising pay for teachers with fewer than 30 years of experience and capping top pay at $50,000.[18][19]
| North Carolina "A" Teacher Salary Schedules, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015*[20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years of Experience | 2013-2014† | 2014-2015 | |
| 0 | $30,800 | $33,000 | |
| 1 | $30,800 | $33,000 | |
| 2 | $30,800 | $33,000 | |
| 3 | $30,800 | $33,000 | |
| 4 | $30,800 | $33,000 | |
| 5 | $30,800 | $36,500 | |
| 6 | $31,220 | $36,500 | |
| 7 | $31,670 | $36,500 | |
| 8 | $33,030 | $36,500 | |
| 9 | $34,450 | $36,500 | |
| 10 | $36,337 | $40,000 | |
| 11 | $37,667 | $40,000 | |
| 12 | $38,732 | $40,000 | |
| 13 | $39,230 | $40,000 | |
| 14 | $39,727 | $40,000 | |
| 15 | $40,542 | $43,500 | |
| 16 | $41,053 | $43,500 | |
| 17 | $41,575 | $43,500 | |
| 18 | $42,107 | $43,500 | |
| 19 | $42,648 | $43,500 | |
| 20 | $43,633 | $46,500 | |
| 21 | $44,212 | $46,500 | |
| 22 | $44,780 | $46,500 | |
| 23 | $45,399 | $46,500 | |
| 24 | $46,008 | $46,500 | |
| 25 | $47,182 | $50,000 | |
| 26 | $47,830 | $50,000 | |
| 27 | $48,478 | $50,000 | |
| 28 | $49,178 | $50,000 | |
| 29 | $49,857 | $50,000 | |
| 30 | $50,536 | $50,000 | |
| 31 | $51,236 | $50,000 | |
| 32 | $51,957 | $50,000 | |
| 33 | $52,710 | $50,000 | |
| 34 | $53,462 | $50,000 | |
| 35 | $54,497 | $50,000 | |
| 36+ | $55,573 | $50,000 | |
| *The "A" salary schedule is the schedule for teachers with a bachelor's degree, but no advanced degree or national board certification.[21] Teachers who had completed at least one course toward an advanced degree by August 2013 are eligible for separate advanced degree salary schedules upon completion of their degrees.[21] Teachers with national board certification also receive a salary supplement.[21]
†The figures in this column include longevity pay.[22] | |||
Longevity pay—a lump sum annual bonus awarded to state employees with 10 or more years of state service, ranging from 1.5 percent for employees with 10-14 years of service to 4.5 percent for employees with 25 years or more—was rolled into the new teacher salary schedule as part of the raises.[21][22] Salary supplements for advanced degrees, which had been eliminated in 2013-2014, were reinstated for teachers who had earned a degree or completed at least one course toward a degree by August 2013.[21][23]
Salaries for teachers at some levels were lower in the restructured 2014-2015 schedule than the 2013-2014 schedule. A “hold harmless” provision in the legislation ensured that teachers at those levels would not take a pay cut from 2013-2014 to 2014-2015. The provision kept them at their 2013-2014 salaries (including longevity pay) plus a $1,000 bonus.[21]
Data on average teacher pay in North Carolina
McCrory and Cooper both cite a 2016 National Education Association report as the source for their claims about teacher pay.[5][24]
The National Education Association produces an annual report of education-related statistics in the 50 states and DC, including average teacher salaries.[25] The statistics are compiled using data from state departments of education, with the National Education Association filling in estimates for missing state data.[25][26]
The numbers in the 2016 edition of the report line up with McCrory’s and Cooper’s claims. The report ranks North Carolina first in the nation for percentage and dollar increase in average teacher salary from 2013-2014 to 2014-2015.[7][27] It puts North Carolina’s percentage increase in average teacher salary at 6.3 percent (compared to second-ranking Minnesota’s 3.5 percent), and its dollar increase at $2,829 (to second-place DC’s $2,328).[7]
North Carolina’s average teacher salary of $47,819 in 2014-2015 ranked 42nd in the nation, according to the National Education Association report—a one-position increase from the state’s national ranking the year before McCrory took office.[7][16] That put it between Arkansas at $47,823 and Missouri at $47,409.[7]
The 2014-2015 pay raises in North Carolina were weighted toward teachers with seven years of experience or less; teachers at the higher end of the salary schedule saw smaller raises, or a $1,000 bonus in lieu of a raise.[18][19][21][28]
Conclusion
North Carolina Gov. McCrory and his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Cooper, have both made teacher pay part of the case for their candidacies in this year’s gubernatorial race. McCrory claims North Carolina saw the largest increase in average teacher pay in the country in 2014, and Cooper responds that the state only ranked 42nd nationwide for average teacher pay in 2014-2015.[3][5]
Both claims match data from the National Education Association. A 2016 report from the organization ranks North Carolina first in the nation for increase in average teacher pay from 2013-2014 to 2014-2015, and 42nd for average teacher pay in 2014-2015.[7]
See also
Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2026, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to revaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about fact-checking, click here.
Sources and Notes
- ↑ Campaign Fact Check: Hagan-Tillis Claims and Counter Claims," October 4, 2014
- ↑ ABC11, "Governor Pat McCrory and Challenger Roy Cooper Hold First Debate," June 24, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Governor Pat McCrory, "Education," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ The heading for this section of the post refers only to “teacher pay.” However, the subsequent text makes clear that the Cooper campaign is referring to average teacher pay.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Record, "McCrory Offers 'Smoke and Mirrors' Election-Year Budget," May 2016
- ↑ National Education Association, "About NEA," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 National Education Association, "Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2015 and Estimates of School Statistics 2016," May 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 WRAL, "After Inflation, NC Teacher Pay Has Dropped 13% In Past 15 Years," April 27, 2016
- ↑ Citizen-Times, "AG Roy Cooper Kicks Off Run For NC Governor," October 13, 2015
- ↑ WUNC, "How We Got Here: Teaching In North Carolina," November 20, 2013
- ↑ 2009 State and Legislative Partisan Composition," January 26, 2009
- ↑ National Education Association, "Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2010 and Estimates of School Statistics 2011," December 2010
- ↑ National Education Association, "Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2011 and Estimates of School Statistics 2012," December 2011
- ↑ North Carolina Fiscal Research Division, "Legislative Salary Increases," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ Karen Shanton, "Email Correspondence with North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Director Alexis Schauss," July 8, 2016
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednea2015 - ↑ National Education Association, "Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2014 and Estimates of School Statistics 2015," March 2015
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, "Fiscal Year 2013-2014 North Carolina Public School Salary Schedules," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, "Fiscal Year 2014-2015 North Carolina Public School Salary Schedules," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ This table was compiled by Karen Shanton using state salary schedules published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 General Assembly of North Carolina, "Session Law 2014-100," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 North Carolina State Human Resources, "Longevity," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Session Law 2013-360," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ Karen Shanton, "Phone Conversation with McCrory spokesman Josh Ellis," July 7, 2016
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 National Education Association, "About NEA's Annual Rankings & Estimates Report," accessed July 10, 2016
- ↑ The National Education Association cautions against putting too much weight on any of these statistics in isolation. Averages can obscure differences within a state. Variations in conditions in the states, such as cost of living, and in the way state departments of education calculate and report data also make it difficult to obtain truly comparable numbers. For example, the numbers New York reported to the National Education Association in 2016 for its average teacher salaries were medians, not averages.
- ↑ State-level policy-makers can’t quite claim all of this increase. According to the North Carolina Department of Instruction, average salary figures for the state include local salary supplements, which are set by local school districts. However, although there was a slight increase in the average local supplement from 2013-2014 to 2014-2015, it accounted for only $136 of the average salary increase over that period.
- ↑ North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, "'A' Teacher Salary Schedule," July 30, 2014
Contact
More from Fact Check by Ballotpedia
 July 7, 2016 |
 July 6, 2016 |
 June 28, 2016 |
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
