WRAL documentary to explore teacher pay

Renee Chou, WRAL News anchor will host a documentary tonight that explores the history of teacher pay in North Carolina.

During the 1990’s Governor Jim Hunt worked with Republicans and Democrats in the legislature to raise the average salary for public school teachers to the national average in an effort to attract and retain good teachers and improve education. Teacher salaries rose steadily until 2008, but after that our state’s average teacher salary plummeted to 47th in the nation and is currently 42nd. The result, according to North Carolina’s Superintendent of Education and local superintendents, has been high teacher turnover and teacher shortages.  Many teachers have gone to other states for higher pay or have left the profession.

Through interviews with teachers and policymakers, the documentary examines the impact of low teacher pay, its relationship to educational quality and the debate over how much North Carolina’s public school teachers should be paid.

Should be a fascinating look at the decisions on teacher pay and what's that meant in the classroom.