Governor McCrory signs budget
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- As promised, Gov. Pat McCrory put pen to paper Thursday and signed a new North Carolina budget during an Executive Mansion ceremony.
After weeks of negotiation between the House and Senate, the budget bill raises teacher and state employee salaries significantly for the first time in years.
The Republican governor announced his intention to sign the bill last week. The $21.1 billion bill adjusts the second year of the two-year budget law approved last summer.
The measure gives $1,000 raises to most state workers and an average 7 percent increase for teachers.
Democrats and other critics say veteran teachers are getting very small raises and losing separate longevity salary supplements. McCrory says naysayers failed to offer alternative plans.
Republicans say current teacher assistant positions were preserved, even as funding for assistants fell $85 million compared to last year.
