Boyle column: With NC trailing Alabama, SC in teacher pay, maybe striking not a bad idea?

Clearly, Amanda Edwards got folks' attention last week when she called for public school teachers to strike statewide, mostly in protest of low salaries while the state sits on a gigantic rainy day fund.

Seriously, a $6 billion rainy day fund is expecting a biblical amount of rain. The state should've put a crowbar in its wallet and doled out more extra dough for teachers and other state employees than it did.

While we can certainly debate the wisdom of a public official calling for an illegal teacher strike, and plenty of people have, I get what Edwards is trying to do: make a bold statement about poor pay for teachers in the Tar Heel state.

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I know a lot of people yawn when they hear "teachers should make more money in North Carolina," and we'll talk about that in a minute. But when I interviewed Edwards, a Buncombe County Board of Commissioners member, for the story, this comment she made really stuck out to me:

"When Alabama and Tennessee and South Carolina are paying better, we need to take note,” said Edwards, who also works as director of college advancement at A-B Tech. “Because at the end of the day, what it does is it impacts our children. Which then, across time, that’s going to impact the readiness of our kids for two-year degrees, four-year degrees and the workforce – it’s that long-term impact this has.”

When she said this, honestly, I thought to myself, "That can't be right. Alabama pays better than North Carolina?"

I know, I know. I should not doubt a smart woman. You'd think I would've learned that in 28 years of marriage.

Also, my apologies to Alabama. I know you've got a lot of great things going on, and you recently enticed my fellow reporter and golfing buddy Derek Lacey to move back home, but when I think "beacon of education" I don't usually think of 'Bama.

Lagging behind

So I did some checking, and Edwards was right on.

The National Education Association tracks teacher pay, and it notes: "The average starting teacher salary for 2020-2021 was $41,770, an increase of 1.4% over 2019-2020. When adjusted for inflation, this represents a 4% decrease from 2019-2020, undoing all the gains made over the previous two years."

Here's the starting pay and top salary for the states Edwards mentioned.

• Alabama: Starting: $41,163. Top salary: $69,466

• South Carolina: Starting: $37,704. Top salary: $76,568

• Tennessee: Starting: $39,024. Top salary: $64,967

... and drum roll ...

• North Carolina: Starting: $37,127. Top salary: $63,359

So, yep, we're at the bottom of that heap in both categories.

I also checked a couple of other bordering states:

• Georgia: Starting: $38,692. Top salary: $80,262

• Virginia: Starting $42,251. Top salary: $72,255

All of this does get more complicated, of course, as many counties and municipalities add a supplement to teachers' pay, sometimes significantly increasing it. But the bottom line is we're lagging behind our neighbors and a lot of other states.

And we've got a ton of money sitting in the state coffers.

As the Carolina Journal reported, North Carolina has a surplus of $6 billion, "of which $2 billion is expected to be recurring and the Rainy Day Fund balance is projected to be $4.75 billion at the end of the biennium. That is an increase from the $4.25 billion that was projected in the last budget. A $1 billion State Inflationary Reserve was also created in anticipation of a recession."

The journal noted that teachers "will see an average raise of 4.2%, non-certified school employees get average raise of 4%."

That's a decent bump, but with that much money sitting in the wings, it could be significantly more.

Yes, I realize plenty of critics out there will accuse teachers of being whiners, of complaining about pay that's as good or even higher than a lot of jobs that don't feature nearly as much time off. Hey, journalists are among those workers that don't get paid as much or more than teaching in a lot of cases.

Teachers earn more than other jobs?

I also found some interesting teacher salary information at business.org in an article titled, "Best States for Teacher Pay in 2022." This article piqued my interest because it looked at teacher salaries and how they compare to all salaries, by state.

"Nationally, teachers earn 11% more than the average salary across the country. Teachers are paid $65,090, while the average salary across all occupations is $58,260," the article states.

In a measure of average teacher pay versus overall average pay, Pennsylvania came out on top at $71,281, well above the average for all other occupations, $55,490. California came in second ($85,892 teacher pay/$68,510 all others), followed by New York ($87,738/$70,460.

By this gauge, North Carolina ranked 44th, with a $54,392 average teacher pay versus $53,100 for all other occupations.

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Alabama ranked 21st, at $54,271, versus $48,110. South Carolina ranked 22nd, at $53,361, versus $47,490. And Tennessee came in 39th, at $52,380 versus $49,330.

I'll pause a moment here to note that I'm sure some readers are going to take issues with the stats, as you can always find other statistics to make your case.

But in my opinion, the bottom line remains: Teachers should make more money. For starters, you've got to have a college degree to teach.

OK, actually for starters, you have to deal with kids all day long. Every day. For 180 days a year. This includes teenagers, and pre-teens.

As someone who raised two kids who went through both phases, I can tell you, you don't want to be around them that long.

Also, as a guy who taught high school English for one year, I can tell you most regular civilians have no idea what teaching involves. These days, it's got to be constant entertainment, with an infusion of learning wherever possible, all while worrying about an emotionally troubled youth busting into the school with a freshly-bought AR-15 and seeking to kill everyone.

And the state wants to look over your shoulder to make sure you're not discussing same-sex parents or talking about slavery in an unflattering light. Oh, and your kids' test scores better be out of the park!

Yes, teachers get a lot more breaks than other workers, including time off at Christmas, in the spring and summer. But a lot of them also work another job or keep certifications up to date during these times.

Chick-fil-A pays more?

And most of us aren't charged with ensuring the nation's kids actually learn how to read, write and learn math and pick up other skills that will help them become productive members of society. Of course a lot of other jobs have more stress and longer hours, but should a starting teacher make less than the person taking your order at Chick-fil-A?

Seriously, some Chick-fil-A stores have advertised $20 an hour for full-time workers, which comes out to $41,600 a year.

I'm not suggesting teachers should make an extravagant amount of money. No one goes into teaching to get rich.

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But you also shouldn't have to take a vow of poverty to commit to a career in the classroom. Especially here in the mountains, where rents and home prices are absurdly high, teachers need to be able to buy a home at some point, to root themselves in the area, rather than leaving for greener pastures in neighboring states — or for other careers entirely.

I'll also make another argument: I think the pandemic and the ensuing challenges to the job market have "re-normed" the whole wage structure, particularly here in the Asheville area. You can't expect people to commit to a career or an area where they likely will never be able to buy a house or afford vacations, or a car from this century.

Simply put, when you've got $6 billion sitting in the state treasury, you can do better than a 4.2% raise.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 828-232-5847 or jboyle@citizentimes.com

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Boyle column: NC trails Alabama, SC, Tennessee in teacher pay?