(The Center Square) – Starting teacher pay in North Carolina would rise to $50,000 annually, master’s pay for educators would be restored, and the raises for teachers over the next two years would be 8.7% if the state budget proposed by the House of Representatives becomes law.

Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, on Monday evening gave his second tease in four days of the spending plan. The education spending highlights were top of his list, followed by a 2.5% across-the-board raise for state agency employees, community college staff and UNC System personnel.

“Talented educators should never have to leave their home in North Carolina to make a living,” said Rep. Erin Paré, R-Wake, a mother of two children in the largest (160,000 students) public school district in the state. “Raising starting teacher pay to first in the Southeast sends a clear message to our state’s future teachers: build your career, your family, and your legacy in North Carolina classrooms.”

Additionally, state retirees would get a 1% cost of living bonus in the first year and 2% in the second.

Hall plans an introductory news conference Tuesday morning. The fiscal year starts July 1 and three proposals will matriculate through the negotiation stage.

Earlier, first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein unveiled a $67.9 billion plan on March 19, and the Senate passed a $65.9 billion plan that drew the backing of four Democrats in the Republican majority (30-20) chamber.

On Monday, Stein followed with an $891 million relief package for Hurricane Helene.

“We’re committed to investing in the people who invest in North Carolina,” Hall said. “From raising salaries for teachers and state employees to cutting taxes and slashing bureaucracy, we’re focused on getting the greatest return on North Carolinians’ hard-earned tax dollars while putting more of those dollars back in their pockets.”

Already on Friday, Hall said the budget plan would exempt the first $5,000 in tips from state income tax and bring back in 2026 what is known as the back-to-school sales tax holiday.

The chamber leader said the House plan will send NCInnovation funding – it was $500 million in the 2023 budget – toward Helene relief and recovery. The bill also:

• Increases the standard tax deduction by $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married couples.

• Holds growth of the net general fund expenditures to 5% over the two years.

• Restores what is commonly called the Rainy Day Fund to $4.75 billion.

• Cuts nearly 3,000 vacant government positions.

• Cuts more than $10 million tied to state programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, colloquially called DEI.

• Funds new positions by the dozens at the Division of Motor Vehicles and authorizes a privatization pilot program for license renewal.

• Spends $50 million on school safety grants.

Appropriations Chairman William Brisson, R-Bladen, said, “Eliminating more than $10 million in DEI programs that are light on accountability and heavy on cost lets us focus our taxpayer dollars where they matter most: investing in the next generation of students and teachers.”