{"id":612,"date":"2026-05-20T15:35:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=612"},"modified":"2026-05-20T15:35:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:35:42","slug":"teachers-could-get-higher-raises-why-thats-a-budget-challenge-for-wake-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=612","title":{"rendered":"Teachers could get higher raises. Why that\u2019s a budget challenge for Wake schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Higher-than-expected state raises and bonuses for teachers could blow a hole in the Wake County school system\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

Read more Baseball is back in Wake County. A free fan festival kicks off the season<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week, state Republican legislative leaders announced a state budget framework<\/a> that includes an average raise of 8% for teachers and a one-time bonus of $500 to $1,000 for educators. Wake County school finance staff said Tuesday that the problem is they only expected 3% raises for teachers and didn\u2019t have any bonuses factored into their new budget.<\/p>\n

\u201dWe characterize this as being a good problem to have, meaning that teachers will see increases, state employees will see more increases,\u201d Wake Superintendent Robert Taylor told the school board\u2019s budget committee on Tuesday. \u201cBut the downside is we\u2019ve still got to find a way to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The school district faces having to add money for the higher raises to its budget<\/a>. Earlier this month, the school board approved a budget request that asks county commissioners for a $25.3 million increase<\/a> in local funding.<\/p>\n

The school district had made more than $15 million in cuts \u2014 such as reducing the number of high school assistant principal positions \u2014 to limit the requested increase. County Manager David Ellis has recommended raising the tax rate to help fund the requested $25.3 million school increase.<\/p>\n

Administrators said they\u2019re still waiting for lawmakers to release detailed budget documents before they can say how much the additional raises will cost the district. Wake may have to make more cuts to offset the higher raises.<\/p>\n

Most of Wake\u2019s teachers are state-funded. But administrators said around 2,000 teachers and 500 instructional support staff such as counselors are locally funded.<\/p>\n

Wake uses federal grants to pay federally funded teachers.<\/p>\n

Wake teachers \u2014 regardless of how they\u2019re funded \u2014 are paid using the state\u2019s salary schedules. This means they\u2019d get matching raises.<\/p>\n

Wake tries to control costs by having the state pay the salaries of its more highly paid and experienced teachers.<\/p>\n

School administrators factored in a 3% state raise for teachers. The state budget agreement includes an average raise of 8%. The biggest increases of more than 8% would go to newer teachers who are paid with local funds in Wake.<\/p>\n

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In addition to the raises, State lawmakers are proposing a $1,000 bonus for teachers with more than 16 years experience and a $500 bonus for those with less than 16 years of experience.<\/p>\n

Taylor said it\u2019s unclear if the state will provide enough money to also cover bonuses for locally and federally funded teachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we have a budget that we\u2019ve set, everything is going to come out of the General Assembly and the final decisions they make,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

While a framework was announced, it\u2019s not clear when the new state budget will be adopted.<\/p>\n

North Carolina was the only state not to adopt a comprehensive state budget last year. GOP leaders said the raises will not be retroactive but will go into effect when the new budget becomes law.<\/p>\n

The bonuses will also be paid out when the new budget becomes law.<\/p>\n

Wake school staff said it will take time to analyze the state budget once it\u2019s adopted and to identify where additional money would be found to pay the raises and bonuses.<\/p>\n

That means if a state budget is adopted in June that it\u2019s unlikely the raises will roll out in July.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, spending restrictions are in place to close out this school year, including:<\/p>\n

In addition, Wake is monitoring the cost of diesel fuel used to operate school buses. Diesel costs have been rising due to the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran.<\/p>\n

Read more This NC native is performing in Raleigh for a good cause. When is the concert?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wake County schools planned for 3% raises but state leaders proposed an average 8% raise plus bonuses, forcing possible cuts or higher local funding to balance the budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nTeachers could get higher raises. 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