Principal Pay in North Carolina
Note: This blog post features a brief from page 30 of our 2018 Facts & Figures publication, contextualizing North Carolina education data with a short description of an historical feature or a critical issue in North Carolina. Read more at www.NCEdFacts.org. In recent years, principal pay in North Carolina ranked last in the Southeast and near the bottom nationally. In 2017, the North Carolina General Assembly transformed the state salary schedule for principals with an investment of $24M, or an average raise of approximately nine percent. The previous statewide schedule was based on each principals’ years of experience, level of education, and the number of teachers in the school they led. Annual state-funded pay ranged from $52,656 to $111,984, with an average of $64,416 in 2017. The updated schedule is based on the size of the school and the principal’s growth status (derived from students’ performance on standardized End-of-Course and End-of-Grade exams). Principals are also eligible for two stackable bonuses based on their school-level growth scores and school performance grades: Source: North Carolina General Assembly – 2017 Appropriations Act
Statement from BEST NC on Principal Pay
Cary, NC – This year, North Carolina made the largest investment in state history in principal salaries through an updated salary schedule and bonus opportunities. The impetus was an average principal salary ranking at the bottom of the Southeast and among the lowest in the nation and increasing recognition that that North Carolina’s way of paying principals was outdated and convoluted.
Raising and Transforming Principal Pay: North Carolina Leading the Nation
Amid a flurry of budget negotiations, a gubernatorial veto and the subsequent legislative veto override this summer, it’s been easy to get caught up in the partisan analysis of North Carolina’s latest $22B state budget. Like any budget – or any 438-page document, for that matter – it is a complex list of competing priorities, with parts both to like and to criticize.
Principal Pay and School Performance
