Gauntlet: Governor dares legislators to raise teacher pay

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper threw down the gauntlet before the Republican-controlled General Assembly this week by offering up his proposed budget which contained larger pay raises for teachers than the Legislature's version.

This is one of the first of many budget battles ahead between the executive and legislative branches of state government, and it promises to be an ongoing one.

Teacher pay is always a contentious issue. Some people believe teachers are already paid fairly and that coupled with the benefits they receive they are already adequately compensated.

But others think the state has lagged for decades behind other states in how much it pays its teachers and that North Carolina should strive to be a national leader in that area, not just try to keep up with the national average.

That rankles many taxpayers, who point to the average income of most North Carolinians and note that teachers do well by that economic scale.

Teacher admittedly have a tough job. They are charged with mentoring our most valuable resource -- our children. It will be interesting to see if legislators, who hold the political advantage, will be swayed to give them more money.

Published in Editorials on March 3, 2017 9:47 AM