Raleigh, NC — The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) praised Governor Josh Stein's budget recommendation for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The budget calls for increasing teacher pay for new and veteran teachers and providing tax relief for North Carolina's working-class families. Governor Stein's budget reflects his priorities - the children of North Carolina, the educators that support them, and the working-class families that are the backbone of this state.
"North Carolina's educators have been saying it for years: our kids deserve better than a state that ranks near the bottom in public school funding while cutting corporate taxes to zero," said NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly. "Governor Stein's recommended budget hears that call. It raises teacher pay at all levels, restores master's pay, eliminates the mid-career pay plateau, invests more in Exceptional Children programs, and ensures every child can eat breakfast at school. Critically, it recognizes that we cannot keep draining public revenue with more corporate tax cuts and expect our schools to thrive. This is a responsible budget, and North Carolina will be better for it.
Our Kids Over Corporations campaign exists because we need to go even further. We believe our kids deserve a state that makes them the top priority. To do that, we must invest even more in our public schools, and the corporations that have benefited most from a decade of tax cuts should pay their fair share to make it happen. Unfortunately, the leadership of the North Carolina General Assembly is bought and paid for by corporate dollars and insulated from accountability by gerrymandered districts.
Governor Stein has handed the General Assembly a blueprint. Now it is their turn to show us whose side they are on: our kids or the corporations?"
