Governor Stein Delivers School Supplies to W.M. Irvin Elementary School
NORTH CAROLINA, August 20 - Today Governor Josh Stein visited W.M. Irvin Elementary School in Concord to deliver school supplies collected by the Governor’s Office during the annual Governor’s School Supply Drive. During back-to-school season, Governor Stein is also highlighting the state budget’s investments in raising teacher pay and expanding programs that improve student outcomes.
“Helping stock classrooms across the state is a great way to support public schools, but it is far from the end of our responsibility to the teachers and students in our state,” said Governor Josh Stein. “This year’s state budget had a lot of good news for education, but to truly support our public schools and our students’ futures, we need to better support teachers who pay for school supplies out of their own pockets.”
This is the eighth year that the Office of the Governor has held this event to encourage North Carolinians to donate school supplies to local classrooms. From June 29 to July 31, donation boxes were placed at the State Employees’ Credit Union’s 275 branch locations. The Office of the Governor and cabinet agencies also collected donations. In partnership with SECU, the North Carolina Parent Teacher Association (NCPTA), the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Carolina, and Communities in Schools of North Carolina, the Governor’s Office is distributing supplies to students in need across the state. In total, the drive collected more than 110,000 unique school supplies.
Governor Stein is committed to investing in North Carolina’s public schools. Last month, Governor Stein signed into law North Carolina’s first full state budget in more than two years. The budget invests in public schools by providing the largest average teacher pay raise in 20 years and the largest starting teacher pay raise in nearly 50 years. It provides a 3% raise and a bonus of at least $1,000 for all other school staff, including principals and non-certified employees, and it invests in programs that improve student outcomes, like Advanced Teaching Roles and the Science of Reading.
A report last year showed that, on average, North Carolina educators spend more than $1,600 of their own money on classroom supplies each year — the second-highest spending in the United States. To reduce the personal financial strain on educators, the Governor’s recommended a $300 tax-deductible supply stipend to offset out-of-pocket costs teachers cover for classroom materials and restored a back-to-school sales tax holiday in his proposed budget. He will continue to advocate for these needs.
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