The North Carolina House budget includes investments in teacher and state employee raises, childcare funding, and it fully funds Opportunity Scholarships. The House budget is now available to view online.
Highlights include:
- Starting teacher salary raised to $44,000
- Restoration of master’s pay for teachers
- 2% additional COLA bonus for State retirees
- Additional 9% raise for correctional officers
- Full funding for Opportunity Scholarships
- Childcare funding stopgap: $135 million for childcare stabilization grants
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore said,
“The House budget fully funds Opportunity Scholarships for the thousands of North Carolina families who have applied to the scholarship program. Parents must be empowered to make the best education choices for their families regardless of income status, but school choice is not a zero-sum game. Therefore, the House budget also raises starting teacher pay to $44,000 and restores masters pay for teachers, ensuring every public school classroom has a qualified teacher who is compensated like the professional that he or she is.”
North Carolina House Budget Chair Rep. Jeffrey Elmore said,
“As millions of Americans struggle to make their income stretch in Biden’s economy, and our state employees and retirees are not immune to the reality of Joe Biden’s inflationary policies. This budget provides an additional across the board raise for our state employees and a 2% cost of living bonus for state retirees. This budget also targets teachers and correctional officers for additional compensation in light of the critical needs and unfilled vacancies in these two areas.”
North Carolina House Budget Chair Rep. Donny Lambeth said,
“As we’ve worked diligently on the House budget, one thing has remained clear: we cannot leave Raleigh without addressing the childcare crisis. The House budget continues 75% of current stabilization grants to keep childcare centers open and parents can remain in the workforce, while giving the state time to develop a more sustainable model for childcare costs.”
North Carolina House Budget Chair Rep. Dean Arp said,
“At a time of economic uncertainty, this House budget restrains spending growth while also dealing with the most pressing needs of our state. We utilized just two reserves—the Economic Development Reserve to fulfill our commitments to bring Toyota’s manufacturing jobs to this state, and the Medicaid Stabilization Reserve, which will address an unexpected one-time increase in Medicaid costs. The savings reserve is untouched and remains at record highs.”
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