 In 2017, one of the major legislative goals of the State Board of Education and other education advocates was boosting principal and assistant principal pay in North Carolina. Although likely to see significant improvements with the next ranking, North Carolina has been ranked 50th in the nation in school administrator compensation according to the North Carolina Association of School Administrators (NCASA). Strong principals and assistant principals are necessary for student success. In order to ensure that North Carolina continues to attract and retain the best principals and assistant principals, it is important to provide a common-sense, straightforward system of pay that is competitive with other states and that rewards exceptional school leadership.
In an effort to accomplish this goal, the General Assembly included an additional $35.4 million for school-based administrator compensation in the 2017 state budget. They also passed a new principal pay scale that compensates principals based on the academic growth of the students and number of students in the school, rather than the number of teachers and the seniority and advanced degrees of the principal.
According to the NCASA, the new plan and increased funding will move the average principal state funded pay from just under $64,000/year to more than $71,000/year, not including the bonus pay. When local compensation is factored in, the average principal pay will be closer to $85,000/year plus bonus pay. Under the new plan, assistant principals are to be paid according to the teacher salary schedule plus an additional 17%, thereby addressing the issue of some assistant principals being paid less than the teachers they supervise.
As can happen with major changes in legislation, unanticipated challenges have emerged during implementation. In response, the State Board of Education is working with the field and other stakeholders to identify concerns and are working with legislators and General Assembly staff to outline technical corrections that can address these concerns. The overarching goal is for North Carolina to attract the best principals and assistant principals and to fairly and adequately compensate them so that we can retain top talent for the leadership in our K-12 public schools.
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