Governor Cooper Unveils FY 2022-23 Budget Proposal

• $19.9 million for supporting low-performing schools and districts
  • $10 million for District and Regional Support model
  • $6 million for schools “to adopt a Community Schools model to address out-of-school barriers to learning.”
  • $3.9 million for reduced-price lunch co-pays; offsets co-pays for eligible students in schools participating in the National School Lunch Program; this investment is expected to provide up to 97,500 students with no co-pay, free school meals.

• $89.7 million for expanding access “to high-quality early childhood education for children from birth to age five”
  • $41.9 million for NC Pre-K expansion
  • $10.25 million recurring and $250,000 nonrecurring for Early Intervention
  • $10 million for Smart Start; provides grant funds for community colleges to host early childhood education centers.
  • $26 million for Child Care WAGES
  • $1.25 million for recruitment and professional development

• $13 million to create a “guided pathway from high school to postsecondary education and career opportunities.”
  • $3 million in revised funding for NCVPS
  • $10 million for career development coordinators in Grade 6-12

• Provides $691 million recurring and $863 million nonrecurring to increase compensation and provide retention bonuses for all state employees and state-funded local employees and to give retirees a cost-of-living adjustment. Specific recommendations for school personnel include:
  • $71.2 million for teacher pay
    • Provides funding for an extra 2.5% increase to double the planned FY 2022-23 compensation increase to 5% for teachers, Instructional Support personnel and Assistant Principals paid on the teacher salary schedule.
    • Updates the teacher salary schedule to reduce salary plateaus for experienced teachers, Instructional Support personnel, School Psychologists, Speech Pathologists, and Audiologists; and provides funds for a salary increase for individuals paid in accordance with the statewide teacher salary schedule and an experience-based step increase for educators earning a year of creditable service.
    • Together with the increases provided in SL 2021-180, these increases provide an average increase for existing teachers of at least 7.5% over the biennium.
    • Restores Master’s Pay for classroom teachers with advanced degrees in the subjects they teach.
  • Approximately $11.8 million for school-based administrator pay, including doubling the planned 2.5% increase for Principals to 5%.
  • Approximately $39.61 million for central office and noncertified employee pay to provide an additional 2.5% increase and double the planned 2022-23 increase to 5%.
  • Approximately $375 million for retention bonuses to all state employees, local education employees, and public school personnel regardless of funding source; provides an additional $500 bonus to eligible employees, including employees with an annual salary of less than $75,000.
    • Bonuses will be paid in two installments, with the first half paid in November 2022 and the other half in April 2023.
  • $122 million for Teacher, Instructional Support, and School-based Administrator Bonus — Repeats and expands the FY 2021-22 bonus funded through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, providing an additional $1,000 General-Fund funded bonus to all teachers, instructional support personnel, assistant principals, and principals, regardless of funding source. This increases the total bonus a teacher can expect to receive to $3,000 during FY 2022-23. As with the retention bonus, this bonus shall be paid half in November 2022 and half in April 2023.
  • $75 million for Supplemental Funds for Teacher Compensation — supports teachers across the state by opening supplemental allotment eligibility to all North Carolina counties and increasing the per teacher allotment cap from $4,250 to $5,000.

Highlights of additional education-related budget proposals can be found below:

• $500 million on public school construction through the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund, with each school district getting a base amount of $500,000 and then further funding based on Average Daily Membership.
• $70.2 million recurring to hire approximately 850 additional Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (SISP), including school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists, to support student mental and physical health. Provides at least one new SISP position to each school district and allows flexibility in SISP position allotments so LEAs may strategically hire SISP staff to best meet the needs of their students.
• $4.5 million to fund 115 year-long school psychologist internship positions at the equivalent of a starting teacher salary.
• $30 million recurring increase to hire additional Teacher Assistants to help support K-3 literacy efforts.
• $2.5 million recurring increase to the School Transportation allotment and $25 million nonrecurring to cover the rising cost of bus fuel.
• $14 million recurring and $600,000 nonrecurring to support eight regional coaches, one implementation coordinator, and 115 early literacy specialists to support Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) Science of Reading training across the state.
• $3.9 million recurring to offset the co-pays for students eligible for reduced price lunches in schools participating in National School Lunch Program. This will provide free meals for up to an additional 97,500 students.
• $8 million nonrecurring for youth-targeted Rural Works Pilot Program “to implement the 3 -year Rural Works program pilot, an expanded version of the successful Surry-Yadkin Works program”
  • Expected impact notes this expansion has potential to impact over 500 students per year.
  • $38.7 million to enhance community and school safety, with $20 million recurring designated for ADM-based school safety grants.
• $50M in down-payment assistance for eligible first-time homebuyers, with enhanced assistance ($15,000) for educators.
• $162 million Labor Market Retention and Adjustment Reserve to be shared among all Cabinet agencies to address retention & competition concerns.

For more information on the Governor’s budget proposal, see the list of additional resources below:

• Press Release: Governor Cooper’s 2022-23 Budget Proposal
• Governor’s Recommended Budget Adjustments FY 2022-23
• Draft of Governor’s Special Provisions
• Education Highlights
• Stronger Workforce Highlights
• Education Budget Summary