This NC district has the highest-paid school board members. Here’s what they make
.png "Wake County school board members argue whether to allow teachers to apply for grants from the group We Need Diverse Books at its Feb. 20, 2024 meeting in Cary, N.C.")
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- Wake County school board leads NC in pay, with members earning over $38,000.
- Large time demands and rising political tensions challenge board member roles.
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth board faces scrutiny over a $46 million budget deficit.
Wake County school board members are the highest paid in the state, but they also lead North Carolina’s largest school system.
Wake County school board members are paid an annual salary of $38,017, with the board chair getting 20% more. While the pay might seem like a lot for what’s officially a part-time job, Wake school board chair Chris Heagarty said it’s a position that requires a lot of sacrifice to do it right.
“Everybody comes to the school board for different reasons,” Heagarty said in an interview. “I think just about all of us are committed to public education and to improving the welfare of our students and trying to ensure their educational success.
“It’s a hard time for public schools right now, and if you’re not committed to putting in the time that it takes, then this job’s probably not for you.”
The time commitment could be a factor for people weighing whether to apply to fill the vacant seat on the Wake school board.
School board pay varies across North Carolina
School board members are elected by voters to hire superintendents and to approve the policies and budgets for North Carolina’s 115 school districts.
A 2024 database by the North Carolina Schools Boards Association shows school board member compensation varies widely across the state.
According to the NCSBA database, school board members in Elkin City and Mt. Airy in Surry County are unpaid. Some other small school districts pay their board members by the meeting or a small monthly stipend of a few hundred dollars.
The state’s five largest school districts pay school board members significantly more than other districts. Here’s 2025 data compiled by The News & Observer:
- Wake County school board members are paid $38,017. The chair gets $45,620.
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board members are paid $23,413. The chair gets $29,265.
- Guillford County school board members are paid $20,700. The vice chair gets $21,000 and the chair gets $24,300.
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth school board members are paid $22,965 to $26,765, depending on their position.
- Cumberland County school board members are paid $14,184. The chair gets $15,828.
To put it in perspective, the state’s base salary for a beginning teacher is $41,000. Wake County supplements the pay so a beginning teacher gets $48,340.
Long hours serving on school boards
Wake County school board members lead the nation’s 14th-largest school district. Wake has more than 161,000 students and more than 20,000 employees. The district has an annual operating budget of $2.3 billion.
Heagarty, the board chair, said rank-and-file board members spend at least 20 hours a month doing their board duties. But he said those members often spend close to 40 hours a month.
Heagarty estimated that the vice chair works 60 hours a month and the board chair between 60 and 80 hours a month.
“Service on the Board of Education at a bare minimum is a part-time job, and your success in that role will definitely be impacted by how much more time you can dedicate to the position,” Heagarty said.
All of the Wake school board members have either a full-time or part-time job that they juggle as well as their board duties.
“Because I take my responsibilities as a school board member very seriously, I spend countless hours at home studying, answering constituent emails, attending school events and then of course participating in various meetings,” school board member Cheryl Caulfield said in a statement.
Heagarty said the time commitment is particularly high for those in board leadership positions. Heagarty said he took vacation time from his day job in order to attend most of Wake’s more than 30 high school graduations.
Dispelling rumors about furries in schools
The job has become even more contentious over the last several years with school board meetings becoming political battlegrounds.
Speakers often show up at school board meetings to voice concerns about issues such as whether sexually explicit books are in school libraries and to charge that teachers are indoctrinating students.
Heagarty said he’ll often get angry emails from people who assume something they heard about on social media is also happening in Wake.
For instance, Heagarty said his Thanksgiving dinner was interrupted by a neighbor who asked if it was true that there were litter boxes in Wake schools. Heagarty reassured the neighbor that the answer was no.
Websites such as Snopes have debunked as hoaxes and rumors that schools have litter boxes for students who identify themselves as “furries” and act like cats or other animals.
“Work and public service now does take more of a physical toll on people,” Heagarty said. “I think the political climate has soured in terms of partisanship and incivility, as well as downright hostility. Of course that’s going to wear people out.”
Winston-Salem/Forsyth school board under scrutiny
The school board in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County has found itself under the spotlight in recent months due to a $46 million budget deficit. The State Board of Education plans to hire a firm to conduct an outside audit of the district’s finances.
The district has laid off, demoted and furloughed employees to try to get its finances back in order.
State Board of Education member Olivia Oxendine said at this month’s meeting that Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board members should donate their pay to help pay down the $3.4 million the district owes the state.
Oxendine called the district’s financial problems “an example of how not to govern the resources provided by this great state to schools.”
“If I had a recommendation to make or suggestion or a discussion with those board members ... you know what it would be? It would be to really rethink your oath,” Oxendine said. “It would be maybe to rethink if you really are in the seat you need to be in.”
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board chair Deanna Kaplan did not return an email Wednesday from The N&O requesting comment. Several school board members have tried to blame the financial problems on former district employees.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
