Potential raises for educators put on hold by state budget delay: 'Lot of uncertainty'

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- With the new fiscal year set to begin on July 1, the lack of a finalized state budget is set to have effects across North Carolina.

Last week, state lawmakers adjourned for the summer before the House and Senate could agree on a final budget, meaning some employees -- including teachers -- won't see their potential pay increases kick in. It's still unclear how big those raises will be, as House and Senate leaders were widely split on how much money to allocate to teacher raises. That's creating frustration for some educators.

"There's definitely a lot of uncertainty around it. And unfortunately, school staff and state employees have become used to it," said Kim Mackey, a social studies teacher at Green Hope High School in Cary.

Mackey has been a teacher for two decades, with most of that time spent in North Carolina. She called the current impasse -- a situation that's become more common in recent years -- frustrating.

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"Lawmakers are on vacation and I'm happy for them that they're able to do that and get that break," Mackey said. "But we've got a lot of school staff and state employees who are trying to figure out whether they still need a second or third job or if they're going to stay in teaching."

Even once a budget is agreed upon, teacher raises could vary greatly. The House budget proposal would offer larger pay increases for teachers, particularly in starting teacher pay, boosting salaries on average by 8.7% but more than 20% for new teachers during the two-year term. The Senate's proposal would increase teacher pay by less than half that much, but it does include $3,000 bonuses for teachers.

On Thursday, Senate President Phil Berger addressed the stalemate and said it was caused in large part by House attempts to rework elements of the budget they had already agreed on.

"I think the whole thing boils down in many respects to an insistence on the part of the House to try to renegotiate agreements that we've made in the past," Berger said.

For teachers such as Turquoise Parker, who has worked at Lakewood Elementary School in Durham for six years, the lack of progress is a sign of disrespect.

"It's disappointing, it's disrespectful. It is so dismissive of the incredible work that educators all across this state are doing every day," Parker said.

Parker said she's seeing more of her colleagues leave not the profession -- but the area -- as a result of the constant uncertainty surrounding teacher pay increases.

"Educators are not just going into other professions, some of them are staying in the profession. They're going to a different state," she said.

The lack of a budget agreement will not lead to a state government shutdown, but after adjourning Thursday, both chambers will be out for most of the summer. That means a final state budget is likely still months away.