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'Right now it’s hard to live, eat, work and provide for' | Teacher advocates demand higher pay

A Charlotte-based organization says North Carolina's teacher shortage will only get worse if the state doesn't increase wages for educators.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thousands of North Carolina students will return to school this week, but the Charlotte Mecklenburg Association of Educators, or CMAE, said the state’s teachers aren’t being paid enough.

CMAE held a press conference Sunday, saying the teacher shortage affecting local districts will only get worse unless the state raises salaries. The group says data collected by the US Department of Education warns of math, special education, and elementary teacher shortages, adding that North Carolina teachers are some of the lowest paid in the country.

“That’s what you continue to hear. 'If you become a teacher, you do it for the love,'" Alvin Jacobs, a CMS parent, said. "We don't ask anyone else to do that."

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Jacobs was one of several parents, teachers and school activists at the news conference. CMAE said fewer and fewer students are studying to become teachers, while veteran educators are leaving the profession altogether. 

“The solution is to pay educators, our custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, administrators, counselors, teachers, across the board and across the state,” said CMAE Vice President Rae LeGrone.

As of last week, there were 123 teacher vacancies at CMS schools, less than 1% per school. Educators say the numbers are higher in rural communities, where state salaries are sometimes not boosted by county pay.

“We haven’t been affected to that degree here yet,” said CMS board member Jennifer De La Jara. "But given the ongoing pandemic, and the constant constraints that we all spoke about today, coupled with the lack of students entering the teacher education program, that's definitely the direction we're heading."

In North Carolina, a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and 25 years of experience makes about $52,000 a year. Some counties do supplement state pay and might offer bonuses.

“Right now it’s hard to live, eat, work and provide for if you live in Charlotte, North Carolina,” said CMS school administrator John George.

The group didn’t name official numbers by how much salaries should increase, but De La Jara suggested starting negotiations with at least a 10% increase over the next two years.  

“I call on the House and Senate leaders to work with our governor on a budget that values our educators and our students,” De La Jara said.

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