National teacher shortage could draw away NC’s finest

Even with that on-the-cheap $750 bonus from the General Assembly, North Carolina’s teachers remain among the nation’s lowest paid. Though beginning teachers now will be closer to the national average for their experience levels, veteran teachers are still woefully underpaid.

Yet the state has somehow managed to keep good teachers and get a better-than-deserved public education system.

But now, as reported by the Associated Press, school systems around the country are coming up short when it comes to hiring teachers.

The AP noted that big cities, including Tampa, Fla., and Las Vegas, have taken to putting up billboards recruiting teachers and that Georgia and Indiana also are having to scramble.

What this means for North Carolina is that its public school teachers – long taken for granted and struggling to make ends meet – have other options. Even those with long ties to the state have arrived at the point where they realize they have to worry about their futures and their financial security.

They will be tempted to go somewhere else they can get the pay and respect they deserve.

This story was originally published September 21, 2015 at 6:34 PM with the headline "National teacher shortage could draw away NC’s finest."