Union County ranks near the bottom in state and federal school funding. But it ranks near the top in local funding. That means Union County taxpayers already do more than most North Carolina counties to support public schools.
Even so, the Union County Board of Education (BOE) is demanding that the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) pay for a $2,000 teacher supplement increase. The BOE is doing this while refusing to acknowledge one crucial fact:
The county provides the dollars. The BOE decides how to spend them.
Commissioner Brian Helms says UCPS leaders are giving teachers and residents misleading information about who is responsible for increasing teacher pay.
The BOCC Provided New Money
UCPS told teachers that the county failed to fund a $2,000 supplement.
This left out a key fact:
The BOCC provided $8.8 million in new operating funds — enough to fund a $2,000 supplement for every classroom teacher if the BOE chose to use the money that way.
At the Nov. 6 meeting, UCPS staff took credit for a $1,000 increase and blamed the county for the remaining $1,000. They did not explain that the BOE controls how UCPS spends every dollar inside its $611 million budget.
Who Was Supposed to Get the Supplement?
The county was told the request was for 2,459 classroom teachers:
- $1,000 = $2.46 million
- $2,000 = $4.9 million
Later, UCPS revealed the supplement would go to multiple employee groups, not just teachers.
Teacher assistants, some of the lowest-paid employees, would receive nothing.
This created confusion about UCPS’s true priorities.
Where the $2,000 Expectation Started
In May, Superintendent Andrew Houlihan posted that UCPS had approved a budget “with a boost for teachers.” This created the belief that a $2,000 increase was already promised, even though the county had already shared budget worries with the BOE in April.
But UCPS could not meet this promise without a budget from the county – discussed jointly in April and approved in June.
The County Cut Its Own Costs. The BOE Did Not.
This year the county faced a major financial obligation: voter-approved school bonds for Forest Hills and Parkwood High Schools, totaling $39 million.
To protect taxpayers, commissioners took several steps:
- They reduced the tax impact from 5.15 cents above revenue-neutral to 1.82 cents above revenue-neutral – the unavoidable increase that was approved by voters when they voted for the school bond. (Sadly this fact was a mystery to BOE Member Barry Tucker, who publicly questioned where county money is going)
- They cut nearly $20 million from county plans.
- They contributed $10 million in cash from the general fund to reduce debt.
These cuts protected taxpayers from higher bills.
In contrast, the BOE made no similar effort to trim its $611 million budget.
The BOE even approved a Board member stipend increase in a 5–4 vote in February, despite no recommendation from its Finance Committee.
Funding Reality: Local Taxpayers Already Carry the Burden
UCPS ranks:
- 115 out of 115 in federal funding
- 113 out of 115 in state funding
- 37 out of 115 in teacher pay
- 6 out of 115 in local operational funding
Helms notes the obvious problem:
“When a district ranks 6th in local funding but only 37th in teacher pay, the issue is not local funding. It is priorities.”
UCPS spends 43% of its budget on support services and 57% on instruction.
A district that truly prioritizes teacher pay should be able to find less than 1% of its budget to cover the supplement.
Bottom Line
The BOCC provided $8.8 million in new money – well beyond what inflation and population growth would dictate.
That amount could fully fund a $2,000 supplement if the BOE made teacher pay its top priority.
“UCPS writes the checks,” Helms said. “Taxpayers already do more than their share. UCPS needs to live within its means, just like the county did.”
Commissioner Helms and Superintendent Houlihan can certainly agree on one thing:
