Governor McCrory is very proud that North Carolina moved up from 42nd to 41st in teacher pay last year. Well, let’s turn back the clock about 20 years.

In 1997, Governor Jim Hunt proposed raising teacher salaries to the national average. At the time, we ranked 43rd.

With bipartisan support (including a Republican-majority House), the legislature agreed.

When Hunt left office in 2001, North Carolina was at the national average. Average teacher pay here rose from $31,000 to $42,000. We were in the top 20 states.

Getting to 41st now isn’t much to brag about. We can do better. In fact, we have.