Churchill once said, “I am an optimist. It does not seem much use to be anything else.”
I think of that quote often, when asked about how I feel about what is happening in our state capital, and what ultimately will happen with the state budget process. Despite the rhetoric and gamesmanship, I believe a budget will be passed that will see a significant pay increase for educators without having to make cuts to K-12 funding or programs that are needed by our state’s most vulnerable citizens.
I was disappointed last year that when the state budget process concluded, North Carolina was one of only three states that did not find a way to have our hard-working teachers receive a deserved pay raise. The public reacted to the fact that teacher salaries in our state now rank among the lowest in the country and have fallen the most dramatically of any state in the last decade. It is clear that our lawmakers have been listening.
I have been encouraged and optimistic this year that as each part of the state government proposed its budget, each had a pay increase for teachers included. Some had modest pay increases while adding funding back to K-12 education, which has experienced huge budget reductions over the past several years, while others suggested larger raises but deep cuts in education to pay for them.
I was in Raleigh last week and was asked to provide testimony on the various budget proposals. As has been reported, Senate members left the meeting in disagreement with the House over rules they had discussed about who might speak at these meetings. I did not take this action personally since from the very start of the meeting it was clear this was being directed as a message to their colleagues. Nor does this action diminish my optimism that both sides will come to consensus.
There are ways to fund teacher salaries without damaging cuts to the things that positively impact children’s learning. Speaker Tillis has suggested that there are ways to increase teacher salaries without negatively impacting children’s learning. Senator Apodaca, a leader in the Senate, was also quoted saying, “We have balanced our budgets on the back of K-12 for the last 30 years.”
In 2002-2003, K-12 education was 41.5 percent of the budget. Last year, it dropped to around 38 percent of the overall budget. If it were simply restored to the 2002-2003 percentage of this year’s overall budget, there would be 680 million additional dollars – more than enough to fund the various pay proposals for teachers.
Though the problem of declining teacher salaries and public school funding has been a shared, bipartisan problem over the last decade, the unfortunate reality is that we now rank 48th in the nation in teacher salaries because we rank close to that number in our per-student funding as a state.
Last year, the legislature made dramatic reductions to tax rates, which has brought in $500 million less in revenue this year. Even if the state were to keep the reductions passed last year but simply delay further reductions that are to take effect in January, funding could be found to address teacher pay raises without further cuts.
Now is the time for lawmakers to truly come together and find a bold and creative solution to this problem. The governor has come out and stated he will veto any budget that makes cuts to education, as he continues to advocate for teacher salary increases. Again, we can and must find a way to do the right things in the right way.
I remain optimistic because as I have interacted with our state leaders, and despite their differences, I know they want a great future for our state. That future cannot be bright if we fail in our commitment to our children and their education. Investing in teachers, giving them the tools they need to have our students be the productive workforce of tomorrow, gives every citizen in our state a reason for optimism.
