NC Governor Roy Cooper signed into law on Monday several bills passed by lawmakers in the final days of June, including a bill authorizing school personnel pay increases and other technical changes to the 2023 state budget previously passed by legislators. Senate Bill 332, 2023 Appropriations Act Changes, not only authorizes average raises for teachers (and for assistant principals linked to the teacher salary), but also authorizes a 3% raise for principals, central office employees, and noncertified personnel. These raises were previously slated by lawmakers in the 2023 state budget but required legislative authorization to go into effect and be made retroactive to the July 1 start of the 2024-2025 fiscal year. In addition to these raises, SB 332 also authorizes a phase-in back to the “Best 2 of 3 Years” school growth model and new inclusion of Pre-K student headcount (as requested by NCASA) for principal pay purposes, as well as revises the supplanting criteria for the Supplemental Funds For Teacher Compensation Program. Read more below:
Principal Pay: School Growth, Sec. 1.2(a)
To determine a principal’s placement on the salary schedule for FY 2024-2025, school growth (Base, Met, Exceeds) shall be calculated as follows:
- July 1, 2024 — Dec. 31, 2024: School growth based on best 1 of 2 prior school years.
- Jan. 1, 2025 — June 30, 2025: School growth based on best 2 of 3 prior school years.
Note: See full bill text for additional information on school growth calculations when principal has supervised a school that was not eligible to receive a school growth score, and similar situations.
Principal Pay: Average Daily Membership, Sec. 1.2(b)
To determine the average daily membership (ADM) of a principal’s school, the following amounts shall be used during the following periods:
- July 1, 2024 — Dec. 31, 2024: ADM based on the 2023-2024 school year. If the school did not have ADM, the projected ADM for 2024-2025 shall be used.
- Jan. 1, 2025 — June 30, 2025: ADM for the 2024-2025 school year shall be used, including pre-kindergarten students in membership at the school.
Supplanting Criteria For Supplemental Funds For Teacher Compensation, Sec. 1.7B.
To determine whether a local school administrative unit has supplanted state funds under the Program for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the lesser of the following shall be used:
- (1) The total non-State funds expended for teacher salary supplements in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, divided by the total State and non-State funds expended for salaries for teachers in the 2020-2021 fiscal year; OR
- (2) The total non-State funds expended for teacher salary supplements in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, divided by the total State and non-State funds expended for salaries for teachers in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Non-Supplant Enforcement — If the State Board of Education (SBE) determines that a local school administrative unit has supplanted non-State funds, for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the SBE can either (a) continue to provide funding, if the unit has remedied the deficiency; OR (b) not continue to provide funding for the program, if the unit has not remedied the deficiency.
