Critics say Governor's 'teacher pay' post was misleading
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A recent post by Gov. Pat McCrory's campaign has critics crying foul.
The graph tracks teacher pay raises in North Carolina over the past 15 years under previous administrations with a statement under McCrory's time in office that reads 'Largest Teacher Pay Raise In the Country'.
A campaign spokesperson said the graph includes data from the National Association of Educators showing NC teacher salaries spiked to 6.2 percent between the 2013-2015 school years.
The post follows a recent meeting with teachers.
"The outside public doesn't realize how much more money we spent last year on teachers," McCrory explained to a teacher advisory committee on Tuesday.
North Carolina Association of Educators president Rodney Ellis disagrees with the claim.
"I think there are a number of teachers out there who would argue differently and would say they actually took a pay cut when they rolled the longevity into our salaries so I think it is very misleading," said Ellis.
In 2015, average teacher pay in North Carolina rose to $47,800, $10,000 below the national average.
Beginning teachers received a bump in pay, but thousands of others received only a one-time, $750 bonus.
The NEA ranked North Carolina 42nd in the nation for teacher pay, among the worst in the country.
"Governor McCrory inherited a problem when it comes to teacher pay and in three short years has made progress in fixing it," said campaign spokesperson Ricky Diaz.
"You can put up all the graphs that you want. You can say that you've done all these significant salary increases, but the fact remains that we are 42nd in the country. We're losing teachers. We are not providing the resources that teachers need in the classroom," said Ellis.
