As North Carolina Teachers Prepare to Rally, Polling Shows Public Support for Education

There is strong public support for North Carolina teachers rallying for better pay, according to new polling.

As teachers prepare to march through downtown Raleigh on May 1 to press the Legislature on their concerns, new data from Public Policy Polling shows 70 percent of North Carolinians support the teacher’s rally.

On the other hand, only one-third of residents approve of the job the North Carolina General Assembly is doing when it comes to public education.

“Basically what it comes down to is that North Carolinians think teachers are under-compensated,” Jensen said. “We asked people, ‘in general do you think teachers’ salaries are too high, too low or just right.’ 69 percent of North Carolinians think teacher salaries are too low.”

Director of Public Policy Polling Tom Jensen spoke to WCHL’s Blake Hodge last week. Jensen said their polling showed that even with North Carolina closely divided on many issues, there is agreement on public education.

“There’s a pretty strong consensus that teacher salaries really are too low, and that the legislature is not doing a good enough job of trying to attract and retain high-quality teachers,” he said. “And against that backdrop, there is a fair amount of support for the rally taking place next week.”

Specifically, 52 percent of those polled said they strongly support raising taxes on the wealthiest one percent of residents to pay for increased pay and benefits for teachers. 71 percent, almost 3 in 4 of those polled, support a $15 minimum wage for all public school employees, a 5 percent raise for all support staff, teachers, and admins, and a 5 percent cost of living adjustment for retirees.

Jensen said public education will continue to be a big issue heading into the 2020 election year, in part because it was a broadly-appealing issue for Democratic candidates in recent elections.

“It is something where Democrats can win over a few moderate Republicans. It’s something where Democrats can win over unaffiliated voters who are becoming a larger and larger piece of the puzzle in North Carolina and who are critical to flipping some of these suburban districts.”

School districts across North Carolina will be closed on Wednesday for the teachers’ march.

File photo of 2018 teacher rally via Kelly Fahey