RALEIGH (March 12, 2025) – In his first State of the State address, Gov. Josh Stein called for investments in students, teachers, public schools and the recovery of Western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene.
“The people of North Carolina are our greatest asset,” Stein said to a joint session of the state House and Senate. “So to invest in our future, we must invest in our people.”
Stein, a Democrat, has a slightly better negotiating position with the Republican legislature than his predecessor, Democrat Roy Cooper. Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the state Senate. But they are one seat shy of that in the House.
STEIN SPENT a substantial portion of his remarks on Helene recovery. Then he turned to education investments.
“That includes investing in our teachers,” he said. “Just remember your favorite teacher. A good teacher inspires their students. That’s why we must recruit and retain the best. And that’s why we must give teachers a real pay raise.”
He was met with hearty applause.
Yet North Carolina fell to 38th among the states last year in average teacher pay – nearly $13,000 below the national average – and 42nd in starting teacher pay.1
“Right now, North Carolina’s starting teacher pay is the second-lowest in the Southeast, lower than every one of our bordering states – even South Carolina,” Stein said.
Stein and his wife know parents of recent college graduates. “Those graduates wanted to live and teach in their home state, but they chose other states because our salaries simply aren’t competitive,” he said.
“It’s an embarrassment. We can and must do better.
“Here’s a goal we can all get behind: Let’s make starting teacher salaries in North Carolina the highest in the Southeast. And let’s reward experienced teachers who stay in the classroom.
“I know that there is bipartisan support for these efforts,” he said, referring to bills to raise teacher pay. “This is an area where we can work together.”
Public dollars belong in public schools, Stein said – a response to a rapid increase over the past two years in use of taxpayer dollars for vouchers to attend private schools, with no limits on the income of eligible households.2
“North Carolina is 48th in the nation in per pupil investment – we can do so much better,” he said.
“We should not be taking money from our public-school kids to pay for wealthy parents sending their kids to unaccountable private schools, to the tune of $7.5 billion over the next decade.”3
IN HIS RESPONSE, Republican House Speaker Destin Hall didn’t rule out “meaningful” raises for teachers.
“Supporting opportunity in education doesn’t mean turning our backs on our dedicated public-school teachers,” Hall said.
“Which is why the Republican-led General Assembly has consistently invested and will continue to invest even more in meaningful teacher raises, ensuring North Carolina continues to attract talented and passionate educators.
“Expanding opportunity and supporting our teachers are not competing goals – they’re two sides of the same coin.”4
STEIN PROPOSED a variety of other improvements, including:
• A $4 billion school bond issue: “Unfortunately, too many of our schools are overcrowded or use trailers or have old, leaking roofs and broken heating and air conditioning. It’s 2025—we shouldn’t have to send kids home from school because the heat doesn’t work,” he said.
“If you’re not sure about it, let’s let the voters decide,” Stein said.
• Free school breakfasts for every student: “We … need to feed our kids because they can’t learn when they’re hungry. A square meal improves student attendance, behavior, and learning,” he said.
• Expand the state’s advanced teacher initiative to help the best teachers mentor others.
• Extend the “science of reading” instruction to middle schools.
• Ban cell phones in schools: “Cell phones are a major source of distraction for students and disruption for teachers. When teachers don’t have to compete with TikTok for student attention, and when students don’t have to choose between social studies and social media, real learning happens. And their mental health improves,” he said.
• Free community college in high-demand fields: Already embarrassed by neighboring states that offer free tuition,5 Stein listed advanced manufacturing, health care and information technology as potential sectors for free tuition.
• Double apprenticeships at community colleges: Stein introduced two sisters who are getting nursing degrees at Surry Community College to work at Northern Regional Hospital in Mount Airy.
“Thanks to this apprenticeship program, Northern Regional Hospital is training its next generation of health care workers – homegrown – dramatically reducing its dependence on (expensive) traveling nurses,” he said.
“Folks should not have to get a bachelor’s degree to get a good-paying job and provide for their family.”
• Expand child care: “Too many parents cannot afford to work. That’s because they can’t find child care they can afford, if they can find it all. At the same time, we don’t have enough child care workers because they don’t get paid enough. Currently, there is only one child-care spot for every five families wanting one….
“Each year, our state loses billions of dollars in economic activity because of our child-care crisis.”
STEIN IS EXPECTED to propose a state budget for 2025-27 to the legislature in April.6
He mentioned tax cuts for middle-class families. But he also knows the state will face a substantial shortfall in 2026-27 due to planned tax cuts.
“We won’t be able to make these necessary investments if we do not address the self-inflicted fiscal cliff we face in a couple of years, especially given today’s uncertainties,” he said.
“We can go ahead with nearly $10 billion of tax giveaways over the next four years, mainly to the wealthy and to corporate shareholders.
“So what’s it going to be? Give money to out-of-state shareholders, or invest in North Carolina families? We cannot afford to do both. We should choose North Carolina’s children and families every time!”
STEIN CLOSED by pointing to how Democrats and Republicans worked together two years ago to expand Medicaid health insurance to 640,000 North Carolinians and extend a lifeline to struggling rural hospitals.
“When we – Republicans and Democrats – come together, that’s when we make a real difference for our people,” Stein said.
Let’s see how legislators respond.
2 https://publicedworks.org/voucher-series/.
3 https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/03/12/governor-steins-state-state-remarks-prepared.
5 https://publicedworks.org/2022/03/background-nc-and-free-community-college/.
6 https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article302014494.html.
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