NC Superintendent Mark Johnson Says Teacher Pay Is a Top Priority

The leader of North Carolina's Public Schools is promising more investment for K-12 education. This comes a week after Republican Superintendent Mark Johnson made controversial remarks about teacher pay.

In a YouTube video, Johnson covers a range of issues he says he'll discuss with state lawmakers this year. 

“My team and I will be working with the General Assembly to invest even more in K-12. Some of our top priorities are continuing to increase educator pay, expanding personalized learning and expanding early childhood education to make sure students are ready when they start school," says Johnson. "And yes, we are working with the General Assembly on the current class size legislation.”

Teacher pay was a sore subject for Johnson last week when the North Carolina Association of Educators criticized Johnson and announced it would not invite him to their convention. This came after Johnson's remarks that $35,000 is a good base starting salary for some teachers. The organization says it also doesn't agree with Johnson's support of school vouchers, among other things.

“When he made the comments about $35,000 being a good pay, I had to speak up," says Mark Jewell, president of NCAE. "It was clearly devaluing the profession as a whole. We're wanting to uplift the pay of teachers in North Carolina. We have a major teacher shortage crisis in the state right now, and this isn't going to help it."

A spokesman for Johnson clarified his comments, saying he was referring to younger teachers starting their careers in places where the median income is below $40,000.

“His context for the $35,000 starting salary [NC's starting teacher salary] would be what a 22-year old individual just out of college and going into teaching would be paid. Keep in mind, that $35,000 figure does not include local supplements or the value of the state employee benefits package," says Graham Wilson, with the state Department of Public Instruction.

“Superintendent Johnson has said he is working with the General Assembly to increase the starting salary for teachers and make improvements to the teaching profession that will help attract and retain more great teachers," adds Graham.

North Carolina currently ranks 35th in the nation for average teacher pay, an improvement from the past couple of years. In 2014, the state ranked near the bottom at 47th in the country.

The two-minute video also urges educators to share their thoughts about post-secondary options for students in a new survey. Johnson says a future survey will also collect feedback on teacher working conditions.

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