 North Carolina Leaps 12
Spots
in Average Teacher Salaries
North
Carolina's 77,486 classroom teachers earned an
average $36,883 in the 1998-99 year, according to
an annual report by the American Federation of
Teachers (AFT). That ranks the state 26th among
the states and is up markedly from the $33,123
they earned the previous year when the state
ranked 38th, according to the report.
The latest figures include two years of North
Carolina's four-year plan to raise teacher
salaries to the national average. Teachers
received a 6.5 percent pay raise last year that
isn't included in the AFT report. They are to
receive another 6.5 percent raise in the coming
year under the budget approved recently by the
General Assembly.
In fact, North Carolina reported the highest
average salary increase for 1998-99 among the 50
states, at 11.3 percent. In 1996-97, teachers in
North Carolina on average earned $31,167, placing
them 43rd in the nation in pay. Salaries rose to
$33,129 on average in 1997-98, ranking the state
37th. The $36,883 they earned on average in
1998-99 moved the state to the 26th spot.
Over that three-year period, teacher salaries in
North Carolina rose 18.3 percent, by far the
largest percentage increase in the nation. Only
four other states posted double-digit percentage
increases in teach pay over the period -- the
District of Columbia at 16.5 percent, Hawaii at
13.7 percent, Louisiana at 10.2 percent and
Alabama at 10.0 percent, according to AFT
figures.
Over the 10-year period from 1988-89 to 1998-99,
average teacher pay in North Carolina rose from
$25,650 to $36,883, a 43.8% increase.
According to the AFT study, the 1998-99 average
beginning teacher salary was $26,639, up 3.6
percent from the previous year ($25,708.) The
three states with the highest beginning salaries
were Alaska ($32,884), Connecticut ($31,391), and
New York ($30,808). The three states with the
lowest beginning salaries were Arkansas
($21,273), Idaho ($20,814), and North Dakota
($19,136).
The 1998-99 average national teacher salary was
$40,574, after working an average of 16.2 years,
up 3.3 percent from the previous year ($39,278.)
The three states with the highest average
salaries were New Jersey ($51,692), Connecticut
($50,277), and New York ($49,686.) The three
states with the lowest average salaries were
Mississippi ($29,550), North Dakota ($29,002),
and South Dakota ($28,386).
 The N.C.
Commemorative Coin Committee has chosen an
engraving of the famous picture of the Wright
Brothers first flight (pictured at left) as the
scene to be portrayed on the North Carolina
commemorative quarter that will be produced by
the U.S. Mint next year.
The committee chose the Wright Brothers picture
over other two designs featuring scenes of the
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
Hundreds of millions of North Carolina coins will
circulate after release in 2001. This project is
in response to the Fifty States Commemorative
Coin Program Act, which authorizes the U.S.
Treasury to issue a series of circulating
quarters whose reverse side will represent each
of the 50 states.
The coins are issued in the order which the
states ratified the Constitution or were admitted
to the Union. Pending final approval by the
Mint, the North Carolina Quarter will be ready to
release in March 2001, the twelfth of 50 to be
issued between 1999-2007.
 The
State Board of Elections on Wednesday fell one
vote shy of a supermajority needed to order a new
Democratic primary in the three-seat 23rd House
District in Durham County, a decision that seals
the narrow defeat of veteran state Rep. George
Miller (D-Durham). Three elections board members
were in favor of holding a new election, but
under state law four votes were necessary. Miller
(left) lost by 1,352 votes to former City Council
member Paul Miller during primary voting that was
called into doubt when several irregularities
were discovered, including the fast that about
600 voters had been improperly moved into or out
of the district. The executive director of the
Durham County Board of Elections subsequently was
fired. Rep. Miller said he hadn't yet decided
whether to challenge the decision in court.
The State Board of Elections also voted
unanimously to conduct a hearing at which the
members of the local board in Durham County will
show cause why they should not be removed from
office.
The two other 23rd District incumbents, Reps.
Paul Luebke and Mickey Michaux, were renominated
in the primary. They and Paul Miller face
opposition from two Libertarian candidates in
November.
State Board of Elections Chairman Larry Leake and
Rose Vaughan Williams, both Democrats, and
Republican June Youngblood voted to hold a new
election. Democrat Faiger Blackwell and
Republican Dorothy Presser voted no.
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