Shelby Powell
reporter@thefranklinpress.com
The North Carolina Senate kicked off budget season on April 14 when they put forward their proposal for 2025-27. The proposal includes $32.6 billion for the first year and $33.3 billion for the second. Sen. Kevin Corbin of the 50th district shared some thoughts on and statistics from the budget.
Corbin said that North Carolina has long held a top spot in the nation on business, which he attributed to “a favorable tax structure and conservative spending.” He described the spending increase from the last budget cycle “modest growth” that would allow the state to refill its rainy day fund, set aside funding for Helene recovery and secure small salary increases for state employees alongside some cuts to the income and corporate tax rates.
Corbin said Helene recovery was a priority for the delegation, with the proposal setting aside $700 million for two years on top of the more than $1.4 billion previously allocated by the state. Though some of the money is already earmarked to help cover losses at universities and community colleges, most of the fund is still to be directed to its final destinations. Estimates put the cost of recovery at around $60 billion, but Corbin said he expected to receive more money from the federal level.
The budget seeks small pay raises for state employees, smaller raises than they have seen in the past, according to an Associated Press report, with teachers receiving 3.3% raises over two years and other employees receiving 1.25% raises. Some say those increases fail to cover the cost of inflation. $3,000 bonuses for state employees will be available this year, with the potential for more adjustments coming later. According to the AP, law enforcement officers would receive a higher, permanent increase.
Corbin said the last decade has seen all of North Carolina’s neighboring states pass it in teacher pay, and that N.C. was “playing catchup” following the 2008 recession. However, Corbin said, the better base rates do not account for the state supplements that North Carolina teachers receive, which especially benefit rural counties. Surrounding states also have supplemental pay for teachers in place and it is unclear whether proposed supplement increases would allow North Carolina to pull ahead of any of its neighbors.
Corbin also shared a program he was especially excited about, an Advanced Teaching Roles program which provides grants for older teachers to earn up to $10,000 more per year by mentoring younger teachers, which could earn up to $3,000 per year by enrolling to receive support. Though the plan has seen strong results during its pilot — part of why it was expanded to the whole state, Corbin said — the grant pool is limited and not all teachers or all districts would be able to benefit from it. Corbin said he hopes Macon County will enroll.
Corbin said that between the new program, new increases to subsidies, and 2:1 matching for new hire signing bonuses (new hires could earn up to $3,000 from their districts), North Carolina could see average teacher pay increases of 8.9% by his math.
Nevertheless, the North Carolina Association of Educators condemned the proposal, which falls short of the 10% teacher pay increases requested by Gov. Josh Stein. It also falls short of the bipartisan House Bill 192, which would establish a new teacher pay scale with a 20% raise for educators.
Corbin said he had not been aware of the bill but noted that pay increases are usually passed as part of the budget, not via legislation. He also said there may be more the state can do for state employee pay, but seemed unconvinced that room could be found in the budget for such substantive increases.
The budget includes continued tax cuts in the coming years. Corbin said the income tax rate has already fallen to 4.25% in 2025 from 7.98% in 2010. The budget proposal requests additional cuts to 3.99% in 2026, 3.49% in 2027 and 2.99% in 2028, with triggers in place to let the rate fall even farther if state revenue levels are met.
The continued tax rate decrease ignores the recommendation of the governor and the consensus forecast from economists. The N.C. Budget and Tax Center estimates revenue in 2025-26 will increase by .5% to $34.89 billion. However, due to tax cuts, revenue in the second year is expected to come in lower at $34.07 billion.