Nice Salary Raise?
By Caitlin Clinard

The budget for this fiscal year, which started July 1st, might be about 10 percent higher than last year. That could mean a pretty nice salary raise for state employees.

State employees are critical to keeping the University running. The proposal would give them a five and a half percent raise, the biggest they’ve seen in 16 years. Teachers and college faculty members are looking at a six to eight percent raise as well. This means they’ll have bigger paychecks to bring to banks. Associate Professor, Boyd Switzer, has been a UNC-CH faculty member for 34 years and thinks this is good news for the university.

“Hopefully, this will keep the University more competitive with salaries and other institutions at least this year and slow down the loss of good faculty members and researchers,” he said.

Governor Mike Easley praised the proposal. He thinks it’s a clear indicator that education is a top priority in North Carolina.