Wake comes through on school pay

It feels a little like an oasis in a desert. While state lawmakers did provide a minor raise for teachers and other state employees, Wake County commissioners and school board members joined forces to try to do right by teachers and staff. There will be $16 million in raises for teachers, $1.8 million to boost extra-duty pay and $6 million for raises for support staff, which includes positions such as custodians and bus drivers.

These boosts come at a time when the General Assembly’s treatment of public education has been just lousy. Yes, there were some raises, particularly for beginning teachers, but overall, particularly in the context of an economic rebound, public schools and those who make them run have not fared well.

But commissioners, to their credit in the face of political pressure, recognized that 18,000 county school employees needed long-delayed raises. Where the state failed to answer the call, the county did. And commissioners clearly believed their constituents appreciate their system, the largest in the state, and the people who make it work.

The commissioners approved a record $44.6 million increase in school funding this year, and the schools are determined to stick to a plan to bring teacher pay in the county to the national average by 2020.

Let us hope that along the way, the state will do its part to make that happen, preferably for all teachers in all corners of the state.

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 6:40 PM with the headline "Wake comes through on school pay."