LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER

August 7, 2014
THE LARGEST TEACHER PAY RAISE IN STATE HISTORY

I joined Governor McCrory, Representative Dollar, Budget Director Art Pope, and incoming
Budget Director Lee Roberts at the Executive Mansion as Gov. McCrory signed the budget
(Photo Credit: Corey Lowenstein, News & Observer)
After many weeks of deliberation, the House and Senate have
agreed on a final budget and today I was happy to join the Governor
at the signing of the budget at the Executive Mansion. During these
past few weeks, I served on the conference committee assigned to
settle the differences between the House and Senate budgets. A
goal of the Senate was to allow open conference committees to
allow the public information on our progress. It may have taken a
little longer, but this has been by-far the most transparent budget
process in the ten years I have served in the General Assembly.
Another goal of the Senate was to provide a significant teacher pay
raise. For far too long, our teacher pay has been abysmal, ranking

SENATOR NEAL HUNT
Proudly Representing Wake
County in the North Carolina
Senate
15
th
District

LEGISLATIVE OFFICE
300 N. Salisbury Street,
Room 309
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919)733-5850
Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net

DISTRICT OFFICE
2600 Fairview Road
Raleigh, NC 27608
(919)781-3464
near the bottom nationwide. Im pleased to announce that this
$21.25 billion budget provides the largest teacher pay raise in North
Carolina history.
The largest previous appropriation to teacher pay raises was in
2006-07. The amount that year was around $242 million. This year,
we spend $282 million. Even if we were to account for inflation, our
teacher pay plan is the largest in history.
The $282 million in teacher pay raises will dramatically improve
North Carolinas competitiveness nationally. Teachers will see an
average of seven percent increase in pay. That 7% is calculated on
base pay plus longevity!
We have replaced our archaic 37-step teacher pay system with a
six-step schedule and a transparent compensation package. In
addition, under current law, a teacher transferring from a different
state would start on step 0 in North Carolina. This budget allows
out-of-state teachers hired by North Carolina to start at the step they
were at while employed by their old school system, allowing our
state to recruit the best and brightest teachers.

Discussing the budget with Speaker Thom Tillis and Sen. Harry Brown on the Senate floor.
Ive received numerous emails and phone calls from teachers upset
over our teacher pay plan. The North Carolina Association of
Educators (NCAE) has been misleading their members into
believing our budget eliminates longevity pay for public school
teachers. As explained above, this is simply not true.
info@nealhunt.com



STANDING COMMITTEES
Appropriations, Co-Chair
Commerce
Finance
Health Care
Program Evaluation
Redistricting
Transportation

VOTING RECORD

BILLS INTRODUCED


Under current law, teachers are paid longevity once a year in a
lump sum. Under our budget proposal, longevity pay has been
included in a teacher's monthly base pay, so they will now receive
longevity pay on a monthly
basis.

The chart above shows where public school teachers will fit under
the new pay scale (with longevity). It is an average salary increase
of 7% (please note that this chart does not include local
supplements, which our budget does not change in any way).
In addition, our budget:
Funds teacher assistants in grades K-3;
Preserves current Medicaid eligibility;
Provides most state employees a $1,000 pay raise and five
bonus vacation days; and
Increases pay for step-eligible Highway Patrol Troopers
between five and six percent.
Most importantly, there are zero tax increases in this budget. We
have prioritized state spending to streamline state governments
efficiency and reduce its waste. Im proud of the budget we have.
Im confident our fiscally responsible actions will move our state
further along the pathway to prosperity as our unemployment rate
continues to drop faster than almost all the other states in the
country.

SENATOR THOM GOOLSBY
Senator Thom Goolsby, who represented all of New Hanover
County, resigned this week. Earlier this year, he announced that he
would not seek reelection in order to spend more time with his wife
and young children.
The New Hanover County Republican Party Executive Committee
will now recommend and Governor McCrory will appoint a
replacement to serve until January 2015.
I had the honor of serving with Sen. Goolsby since 2011. I admired
his legal knowledge, his conservatism, and his public speaking
skills. He will be missed in Raleigh, and I wish him all the best.
THANK YOU
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the North Carolina
Senate! Please contact my office if you have any questions or
concerns.
Sincerely,

Neal Hunt

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