Teachers receive
local pay boost

By FULLER ROYAL

Certified personnel – mostly teachers and principals ­– will see their annual salaries grow slightly with the increase of local supplements.

Thanks to this year’s full-implementation of low wealth funding by the N.C. General Assembly, the Whiteville City Schools teachers will see their supplement increase from 4 percent to 5 percent of their base pay.

Classified personnel in the city schools saw their supplements rise from 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent.

Teachers in the Columbus County Schools will see their supplement go from 2.6 to 3 percent of their base salary. If some new funding for disadvantaged students is approved by the state, county teachers could see their supplement increase to 3.5 percent.

Disadvantaged student funding could also help non-licensed personnel in the county move from 1 to 1.5 percent supplements.

Disadvantaged student funding, which helps with raising test grades and accountability – can be used for supplements and education programs.

Last year, the North Carolina Association of Educators ranked each school system’s supplements.

In 2005-06, with minimum supplements given to new teachers, Whiteville was ranked 74th in the state last year, followed by Columbus County at 90th.

A new teacher in Whiteville, with no experience, will receive a supplement of $1,425 on a starting salary of $28,510. Based on the current county supplement, a new county teacher will receive $1,495. That amount will increase to $1,744 if the 3.5 percent supplement is approved.

Whiteville ranked 76th last year in maximum teacher supplements. Columbus County ranked 85th.

A teacher with 30 years of experience in Whiteville will take home a $2,491 supplement based on a maximum teacher’s salary of $49,820. A like teacher in the county schools will receive a supplement of $1,495 at 3 percent and $1,744 at 3.5 percent.

A 30-year Whiteville teacher with a master’s degree has a base salary of $54,800 and a $2,740 supplement. In the county, that teacher would have a $1,644 supplement. That amount would increase to $1,918 with a 3.5 percent increase.

A 20-year teacher with National Board Certification would have a base salary (including a 12 percent state increase for being certified) of $51,480. In the city, the supplement would be $2,574. In he county, it would be $1,544 at 3 percent and $1,802 at 3.5 percent.

If a teacher has 30 years, a master’s degree and national Board Certification, the base salary would be $61,376. In the city, the supplement would be $3,068. In the county, it would be $1,841 at 3 percent and $2,148 at 3.5 percent.

Each year, local supplements become more expensive. School administrators say that supplements carry a lot of weight when it comes to attracting and retaining top teachers.

This year, the cist of local school supplements increased because teachers received an average 8 percent pay raise from the state. That produced an 8 percent increase in the cost of local supplements.

If Columbus County and Whiteville were to lose their low-wealth funding, the local supplements would be drastically reduced if not cut altogether.