MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The battle over teacher pay is a battle that’s been ongoing since 1983 for Erlene Lyde, who has been teaching for more than four decades.
"I've been out here in the trenches fighting," said Lyde, who added that the fight over teacher pay does not end until policies are changed. "I'm going to continue fighting for everybody. When we change the policymakers, will we be able to change the policy."
According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the state’s inflation rate last year was 3.8%. School board leaders say with the proposed average 3% raise this year, most teachers will effectively see a reduction in their pay.
"The pay is not enough for teachers to feed their families, put clothes on their children's backs, and so they're having to make some difficult decisions," Lyde said.
CMS Board Member Summer Nunn also echoed those concerns.
Nunn wrote an email stating the issue is hurting every North Carolina district’s ability to recruit and retain teachers.
Now CMS leaders are asking school boards across the state to help stop what they call the "North Carolina teacher pay cut" because teachers like Lyde need it.
"I don't think they care," said Lyde.
School leaders are hoping to see more funding for teachers as the North Carolina General Assembly prepares to reconvene. Their session begins on Sept. 9.
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