The findings were presented to district leaders Tuesday as WCPSS continues to grapple with recruitment and retention challenges amid rapid growth and rising costs.
"We are woefully underfunded," WCPSS superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor said.
One study examined compensation across the district, comparing Wake County Public Schools' salaries to those offered by peer districts and other employers. The review found significant pay gaps in several areas, including principal and educational leadership positions as well as skilled trades jobs such as mechanics and technicians.
According to district leaders, salaries for many positions fall below market value, making it difficult to attract and retain qualified employees.
"We can say this is where Wake County is vs. these other six or seven districts," Taylor said. "Even our structure doesn't allow us to compete in those instances. In critical positions, you may have to redo your local salary schedule to be competitive."
The study also found that positions in budget, finance, and senior administrative support compare unfavorably to similar jobs in both the public and private sectors, including Wake County government.
Taylor said cost-of-living pressures also further complicate the situation.
"Even now, it is much more competitive to pay teachers to live in Wake than any other district," he said. "While we may have a higher salary, the cost of living is much higher, and it negates all the effort that we do."
Keith Poston, president of WakeEd Partnership, said the district was wise to conduct the review.
"The district was really smart to do this," Poston said. "This is what successful businesses do."
Poston said the findings could help guide future spending decisions, particularly in high-demand fields such as finance.
"We've seen a big demand for finance professionals and those salaries have really gone up in the last few years," he said.
A separate organizational study found the district's central services operations are inadequately staffed in more than 20 areas when measured against national benchmarks. Among the findings, Wake school bus drivers average about 114 miles per day, compared with a benchmark of roughly 70 miles. The organizational study also points out the district has one school psychologist for every 1,263 students, compared with a national median ratio of about one psychologist for every 1,127 students.
District leaders and education advocates said both studies point to the same issue -- inadequate funding.
"There is nowhere in the district that's overstaffed or overfunded," Poston said. "That's one of those myths that's out there that the district has all this money. They don't."
The studies recommend exploring ways to increase employee compensation and staffing levels, even after recent pay raises approved by state lawmakers.
School Board Chairman Tyler Swanson suggested state leaders examine approaches used in states such as Georgia to address similar workforce challenges. For district leaders, the findings provide data to support concerns they have raised for years about funding, staffing and the district's ability to remain competitive in one of the state's fastest-growing counties.
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