The average starting salary in 2023 for college graduates was just over $55,000, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers survey. The average starting salary for a college graduate trained to be a professional educator in Asheville and Buncombe County Schools is approximately $42,000 a year.
Educator turnover rate is higher than in other professions. According to research, the top reason North Carolina educators list for leaving a teaching position was changing career fields, followed by taking an educator position in another state. The primary reason listed for these transitions is inadequate income.
Clearly, the writing is on the wall. If you want to keep quality professional educators in the Asheville and Buncombe County public schools, compensation levels for starting teachers need to be $60,000 per annum.
Currently, first-year nurses at our local hospital are paid $25,000 a year more than our first-year educators in starting salary. It seems to me that a first-year professional educator who is tasked to take care of our children’s intellectual and emotional development should be compensated at a rate similar to a first-year pediatric nurse who is tasked to take care of children’s physical health.
Finally, if Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools were to combine and reduce the duplication of high-dollar administrative services, the achievement of competitive salaries for educators becomes more likely.
— Richard Boyum
Candler
