The Durham Association of Educators said the increase is progress but still falls short of meeting basic needs.
The raise would lift the district's minimum wage from $17.15 per hour to $19.22 per hour, an amount advocates say remains below a living wage. To fund the increase and other priorities, the Board requested more than $28 million in additional county funding.
County leaders recommended less than half that amount, citing a slowing economy and concerns about raising property taxes.
The DAE plans to hold a Living Wage Town Hall on Thursday night at NorthStar Church of the Arts.
The debate comes as North Carolina teacher salaries continue to lag more than 25% behind the national average, according to the North Carolina Association of Educators.
A new state budget proposal includes an 8% raise for teachers, but advocates argue the increase is insufficient.
"We went from a profession where I couldn't get a job, to one where we have nearly 7,000 teaching vacancies in the state right now," NCAE vice president Bryan Proffitt said. "The 8% number is incredibly misleading, because it's supposed to be part of a budget that was passed over a year ago, yet there is no back pay."
Proffitt said rising costs make it unclear how much relief the proposed raise would provide.
"In terms of what it actually means for working educators in North Carolina right now, it doesn't make the grade," he said.
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