Teacher salaries have been in the news in the past week.
In his State of the State speech last week, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein called for an increase to teacher pay, with starting salaries for teachers in North Carolina to be the highest in the Southeast. A bill with bipartisan support to raise teacher pay is making its way through the General Assembly.
And in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, officials are eyeing a potential 5% increase to the local teacher supplement — despite a tight budget year.
In light of all this, I thought it might be helpful to revisit part of last week’s CMS school board meeting — where CMS Chief Financial Officer Kelly Kluttz explained how teacher salaries work in the district and beyond — and, perhaps more importantly, argued that CMS faces unique disadvantages when it comes to remaining competitive to attract and retain teachers.
You’ll often hear that teacher salaries are determined by the state — and that’s largely true. Teachers receive a base salary that’s determined and funded by the state, based on a state salary schedule. That amount goes up based on years of experience and with national certification.
Prior to 2013, the state also offered master’s pay — a raise for teachers who obtained a master’s degree. Teachers who already had a master’s degree, or who had started a master’s program prior to 2013 are still on that elevated pay scale. But otherwise, master’s pay no longer exists in North Carolina. House Bill 192, which is currently moving through the General Assembly, aims to restore it.
The state also offers some other bonuses and supplements, including the teacher supplement assistance allotment, which goes to all teachers in the state based on property values in their respective district. However, there are a few exceptions to this — CMS, along with Wake, Guilford and Durham counties, don’t get these supplements because of the size of their tax bases.
Most teachers in North Carolina also receive a local supplement funded by their respective county government. In CMS, the average teacher supplement in 2024-25 is $10,287 — with the number fluctuating based on experience, education and certifications.
So, looking at the salary schedule, a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree at CMS would make $48,637 annually (based on a 10-month school calendar). That includes the base state pay of $41,000 and the first-year local supplement funded by Mecklenburg County of $7,637. For a 30-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree, the salary would be $69,518.
Mecklenburg County’s average teacher supplement is the second-highest in the state, behind Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools. But Kluttz argued it still leaves Mecklenburg County teachers shortchanged.
“The state salary schedule is not designed to account for significant differences in the cost-of-living between regions,” Kluttz said. “While CMS’ supplement may appear competitive on paper, it often falls short when adjusted for Charlotte’s higher housing, transportation and daily living costs.”
Kluttz told the board last week that because CMS lacks the additional state supplement that most other districts get, it puts more strain on Mecklenburg County to create an overall teacher salary that’s competitive with other areas.
She argued it’s ultimately up to the state to make the changes that could help with that — the supplement alone can’t fix it, Kluttz said. The CMS board this year updated its legislative agenda to include a push for an 8% increase to overall teacher pay.
But when it comes to what CMS and Mecklenburg County can control, the school board identified three major priorities with the teacher supplement:
- To give some kind of increase to all certified employees.
- To give an extra increase to teachers with more than 15 years of experience.
- To level out some inconsistencies in the supplement pay schedule.
If Superintendent Crystal Hill’s official budget recommendation later this month doesn’t include any major changes, the district is planning to ask the county for an average 5% raise in the average teacher supplement next school year.
That would include an across-the-board 4% increase, with an additional 1% increase for teachers over 15 years and other slight tweaks to smooth out the pay scale.
Of course, what Mecklenburg County can handle might also be uncertain – the county has previously indicated it’s expecting a revenue shortfall.
