A lengthy, well-written and detailed article at WRAL which covers the high teacher turnover rate in Edgecombe county mentions supplemental pay, but doesn’t give the figures.

These figures are important to understand why some counties might have higher turnover rates than others.

These figures do not include details such as average base pay level, benefits or additional supplements for masters degrees.

Here’s Edgecombe’s number of teachers (which also is the same number claiming the supplemental pay) and the average supplemental rates for the last five years:

• 2011-12: 506 teachers, $1,582
• 2012-13: 508 teachers, $1,556
• 2013-14: 447 teachers, $1,570
• 2014-15: 459 teachers, $1,575
• 2015-16: 452 teacher, $2,141

Between the 2011-12 school year and the 2015-16 year, Edgecombe had a net loss of 54 teachers. This drop comes despite the slight uptick in teacher pay over this time period.

Each district sets their own supplemental pay rates. This is not set by the legislature.

Bear in mind that the top five districts for supplemental pay as of figures compiled in 2015-16 are far greater than Edgecombe’s.

The number of teachers below is the number claiming the supplemental pay, not all did as indicated by the asterisk:

• Wake: 9,919 teachers, $6,975
• Durham*: 2,194 teachers, $6,790
• Charlotte Meckelenburg*: 10,326 teachers, $6,764
• Chapel Hill: 958 teachers, $6,315
• Orange*: 600 teachers, $5,200

In the 2015-16 year, supplemental pay in Wake county was around  3.25 times higher than that of Edgecombe.

Some districts have zero supplemental pay. Historically, these districts with zero supplement have included Cherokee County Schools, Clay County Schools, Graham County Schools, Halifax County Schools, Weldon City Schools, Madison County Schools, Swain County Schools.

Note: This site maintains a historical spreadsheet of supplemental rates and can be requested by email (TheLL1885@gmail.com) for review.

Related Reading: Low teacher supplements cost schools