'You get so little': Recent report shows NC teacher pay lags behind national average

A recent report from the National Education Association shows that North Carolina is lagging behind much of the country when it comes to teacher pay. The analysis shows North Carolina ranks 34th nationwide in average teacher pay, and 46th when it comes to beginning teacher pay.

In dollar terms, the report found the average salary for teachers was just over $68,000 nationwide, but only about $56,000 in North Carolina.

Turquoise LeJeune Parker has worked with K-5 students at Lakewood Elementary in Durham for 8 years, noting the demoralizing effect stagnant salaries have had on teachers that are being asked to assume more responsibility amid shortages.

"Then you get to payday and it's just like a little -- like someone just punched you in the chest. Because you do all of that and you get so little," Parker said.

She says the educators and school staffers she has worked with love what they do, but are noticing they can attract a better wage in other fields.

"We are all assigned with doing a lot of different jobs," she said. "And if that is the case, you're developing a lot of skill sets that can be applicable in other careers that are paying more money."

Just last month, the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) gathered outside a Wake County School Board budget meeting to bring the issue into focus. Superintendent Catty Moore's budget proposal at that meeting would bump the minimum wage for Wake County school staffers to $17 an hour.

Parker says it's all part of the broader discussion over pay in schools, inside and out of the classroom.

"If we think about our cafeteria staff, we absolutely need them. Our bus drivers. So, I want to change the narrative of simply talking about teacher pay because we cannot do our job without them doing their job," she said.

Now, she's working to loop elected officials -- both state and local -- into that discussion.

"You cannot have someone who is looking in, making the decisions about what happens within," said Parker. "And that's what has happened historically."