On Thursday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced $3 million from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) will go toward covering licensure exams for future public school teachers. Exam fees typically cost around $450 per person.
The governor said there are about 5,000 public school teacher vacancies in the state, and he said he believes the funding will attract enough new teachers to offset that. But he also said they can't recruit them without showing teachers what they're worth.
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"To show them that we respect them. And we do. But also we need to make sure that that's reflected in our budgets," Cooper said.
WATCH: Cooper's full remarks at Garner Magnet HS
Gov. Roy Cooper speaks on addressing teacher shortage
Teachers say it's gotten dire. Rodney Obaigbena has taught in Wake County Public Schools for nearly a decade and said the reality isn't pretty.
"I've had several colleagues even this year alone that have decided to leave. They love education. They love the students they love teaching. But they got bills to pay," Obaigbena said.
He said responsibilities for teachers have grown as the area has grown, and their compensation should reflect that.
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"It just makes sense to make sure that we have enough teachers to meet the need of a growing county in a growing state," he said.
At the event, Cooper also called on lawmakers to go even further and prioritize raises for already-licensed teachers in their upcoming budget proposal.
"We have the money to give our teachers pay raises. It's not a budgetary issue right now. The money is there, it's just a question of priorities," he said.
The announced funding comes in partnership with NC Teach and the Department of Public Instruction. Teachers will be able to take the licensure exams and then apply for reimbursement from the funds. There was no timeline provided for when the funding would become available.