The new teacher supplement assistance fund will enable less affluent counties in rural areas to compete with urban counties that have a larger tax base to provide teachers with higher supplemental pay.

Sen. Kevin Corbin, who served on the Macon County Board of Education said, “This is the first time anything like this has ever been done in our state,” he said. “These supplements will provide desperately needed additional funds for teachers across the state, specifically in rural counties. Not only will this help our state keep the outstanding teachers we have, but it will also go a long way to serve as a much-needed tool to help attract new high-quality educators in underserved areas.”

Currently, here are the average local teacher supplements for urban counties, which are not included in the fund:

• Buncombe: $7,299

• Durham: $7,009

• Guilford: $4,927

• Mecklenburg: $8,773

• Wake: $8,873

Yet, the average local teacher supplements in rural counties are much less. Here are a few examples:

• Alleghany: $500

• Ashe: $600

• Caswell: $0

• Cherokee: $0

• Clay: $24

• Greene: $1,000

• Mitchell: $108

• Washington: $672

Under the new budget, for example, the average annual teacher supplement in Alleghany County will jump from $500 to $3,846 and in Jones County from $2,500 to $6,750. Lawmakers made the new teacher supplement assistance fund recurring so it will be funded at $100 million each year – ensuring long-term support and certainty for the teachers and counties.