UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Hundreds of Union County teachers gathered on Wednesday to protest over pay. And now county leaders are responding.
Teachers are calling for a $2,000 supplement increase. The Board of Education said the responsibility falls on commissioners, but they said their hands are tied.
“I feel like what we did made a statement,” one protestor told Channel 9’s Gina Esposito. “The blame game continues to happen, but at least they know us as teachers are taking this very seriously.”
The Union County Board of Education sent a letter to Union County commissioners calling on them “to provide the full $14.6 million necessary to implement the $2,000 supplement increase.”
And teachers told Esposito that they were pleasantly surprised by the new push.
“The letter also did request they put this issue on their next agenda meeting, so I’m hopeful something will come out of this,” one teacher said.
But hours later, County Commissioner Chair Melissa Merrell stated that the county had already “significantly increased funding to Union County Public Schools — approving nearly $9 million more than last year, for a total of $160 million.”
Merrell also said that under the law, commissioners have no authority to direct how the board of education allocates the funds and encouraged leaders to approve the recommendation given by the district’s finance committee.
And that current recommendation is a $1,000 supplement increase, she said. If approved, it would raise the total county supplement to $7,300.
A $1,000 supplement increase would make Union County teachers the 18th highest paid in the state, moving up from 37th. A $2,000 supplement would rank them near the top ten.
The Board of Education is expected to vote on the $1,000 supplement proposal on Nov. 6.
To look up teachers’ supplemental pay statewide, click here.
WATCH: Union County teachers protest for better pay
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