On Wednesday, the New Hanover County School Board hosted a legislative forum to discuss improving education in the Cape Fear region. The board invited school board members and other representatives from Pender County and Brunswick County to network over lunch. But the event wasn't just schmoozing.
Brunswick County Superintendent Dale Cole raised a serious concern: the region's long-term staffing prognosis.
"There is no way 15 to 20 years from now that public education can operate the way it does right now, if things stay the same," said Cole. "I don't see a sense of urgency when I go around, when I talk to legislators."
Pender, Brunswick, and New Hanover school districts have all faced staffing issues. Pender County and Brunswick County, which are among the fastest-growing counties in North Carolina, have had particular difficulties with attracting and retaining teachers. Part of the issue, county officials say, comes from the state legislature not allocating enough funding for teacher salaries.
"We hover around a six to ten percent vacancy rate in our district," said Dr. Brad Breedlove, who serves as superintendent for Pender County Schools. "The funding is not there."
North Carolina has one of the lowest average starting salaries for teachers in the United States — 46th, according to a 2023 report from the National Education Association. Facing low salaries, many teachers choose to leave North Carolina in pursuit of better pay and benefits.
"We're last in the Southeast for teacher pay," said Cole. "Everyone poaches our people – South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee."
The few that choose to stay, Breedlove said, still can't fill all the vacancies across the counties.
"We're all fighting for the same minimal resources, and trying to get those teachers in," he said. "We're all sitting here and just trading back staff [between counties]. We're not adding new staff, we're just trading them back and forth."
If things don't change soon, Cole said, student learning outcomes will suffer.
"Fifteen years from now, you're probably going to have high school math teachers that are independent contractors, that contract with multiple school districts. And we're going to be paying them to provide online instruction. Because they're going to be so few that are in the teaching profession that have a math degree."
So at the luncheon, officials discussed possible routes forward. Some suggested forming a tri-county committee to pressure state legislators to provide more school funding. Others suggested working with local businesses to create scholarships for those wishing to become teachers in their counties.
They also celebrated some gains. Both Pender and Brunswick have expanded their career and technical education (CTE) programs this past year.
"It starts with our teachers in our classroom," said Breedlove. "And making sure that every classroom has a highly qualified teacher year after year after year. That's how we make gains not only as a district, but that's how we make gains as a state as well."
