LUMBERTON — One state lawmaker who represents Robeson County supports Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto on Thursday of a bill that would give teachers a pay raise.

“I understand what the governor’s interest is,” Rep. Charles Graham said. “He’s trying to hold out for more money for educators, for more money for bus drivers, for more money for support personnel.”

Cooper vetoed two bills that provided more money for teachers and noncertified support personnel. The bills included teacher raises of 3.9% over two years and step increases for longevity. The bills also included a 2% raise for noninstructional staff.

Graham, a Democrat from Lumberton and a retired educator, said Cooper had made it very clear that he wants better pay raises than those offered by the General Assembly’s leadership.

“And I support that,” Graham said.

One of his goals always has been better pay for the state’s teachers, Graham said. It is important to recruit the best teachers possible and to keep good teachers in the classroom.

“Hopefully, this veto will encourage the leadership to come to the table and negotiate for better pay for teachers,” Graham said.

In his veto message Cooper called on legislators to stand with him and North Carolina’s teachers to demand negotiations on a real pay raise for all educators on the state payroll. The governor said the raises offered in the bills he vetoed “are not good enough for the people who work hard to prepare students for a bright future, as they are far less than the raises approved for other state employees.

“I will negotiate the pay raises of teachers and other educators separate and apart from Medicaid expansion,” Cooper said. “I urge all legislators from both parties to help us come together and support our teachers.”

The lack Medicaid expansion was one reason Cooper gave for vetoing on June 28 the two-year state budget approved by the General Assembly.

Rep. Brenden Jones, a Republican whose District 47 covers part of Robeson County, said the veto was evidence of Cooper turning his back on teachers and choosing to play politics rather than giving teachers a pay raise.

“He now claims he is willing to negotiate on teacher pay, yet his actions over the last 11 months indicate otherwise,” Jones said in a statement. “The governor has made it clear to legislators that unless Medicaid expansion is included that he will not negotiate in good faith. It is morally repugnant that the governor would veto nearly $250 million in additional education spending and prevent folks from having more money over the holidays simply because he cannot get his way.

“It’s time for Cooper to put an end to prioritizing his far-left ideology over the common good of the people.”

Cooper has the backing of the North Carolina Association of Educators, the state’s largest education advocacy group.

“North Carolina educators rejected the Republican budget as anemic and insulting in June, and we reject essentially the same today,” NCAE President Mark Jewell said in a tweet.

Cooper’s veto was blasted by Senate Leader Phil Berger, a Republican from Rockingham.

“Teachers are told to be good, loyal Democrats and their union and their governor will take care of them,” he said. “But they need to ask themselves: ‘What has Roy Cooper ever done for me?’ He’s vetoed every single teacher pay raise that’s come across his desk, and he chose today to give teachers nothing for the next two years.

“Gov. Cooper uses teachers as pawns, blocking their pay increases then trying to convince them it’s all the Republicans’ fault. At some point, they’ll see his cynical ploy for what it really is.”

According to information from House Speaker Tim Moore’s office, teachers have received a nearly 20% salary increase under Republican leadership in the state General Assembly since 2014. More than 44,000 teachers in North Carolina – nearly half – received at least a $10,000 raise from the Republican-led General Assembly since 2014.

Teachers have received nearly three times the salary increases as other state employees over that span on their way to the third-fastest rising pay in the nation, according to data from the National Education Association.

None of those raises were signed by Cooper, said Moore, a Republican from Cleveland.

“North Carolina’s remarkable rally in the national teacher pay rankings since 2014 has all been in spite of Gov. Cooper’s vetoes of higher take-home pay for educators,” Moore said.

Cooper also vetoed on Tuesday a bill that provided funding for increased cyber security and a bill that reduced the tax burden on North Carolina’s businesses.

About vetoing the funding for information technology and cyber security, Cooper said, “This legislation fails to adequately fund state cybersecurity and data analytics needs while sending a substantial capital earmark outside the state’s proven university system.”

Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, said, “This bill provides funds to train the next generation of cybersecurity experts, including a grant to a nationally-renowned cybersecurity program.

“Vetoing this legislation puts the state’s most critical information at risk and signals to hackers that the state is vulnerable.”

About his veto of the bill lowering taxes on business, Cooper said, “This legislation prioritizes corporate tax cuts over investments in education and would further erode state revenue at the same time the General Assembly is underinvesting in schools. Cutting taxes for corporations at more than $1 billion over five years will hurt North Carolina’s future.”

Berger
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Berger.jpgBerger

Moore
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Moore-tim.jpgMoore

Cooper
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Roy-Cooper.jpgCooper

Jones
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Graham
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Charles-Graham.jpgGraham

T.C. Hunter

Managing editor

Reach T.C. Hunter via email at [email protected] or by calling 910-816-1974. The Associated Press contributed to this report.