North Carolinians Back Governor Cooper On Affordable Healthcare, School Funding, and Teacher Pay Raises, New Poll Shows | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: North Carolinians support Governor Roy Cooper's push for increased school funding, higher teacher pay raises and affordable healthcare by wide margins, a new poll release Friday shows. WRAL released a SurveyUSA poll of 2760 North Carolinians, with results showing overwhelming support for expanding Medicaid, increasing school funding and raising teacher salaries.

    Fifty-seven percent of respondents favored expanding Medicaid, with support cutting across racial, economic and party lines. When asked whether North Carolina should boost the economy by funding schools or cutting taxes, 71 percent supported a funding increase for schools.

    On raises for teachers, North Carolinians' preferences are clear. Seventy-two percent of those polled said that teachers should be paid more. When asked about whether they would favor proposals offering a four percent raise or a nine percent raise over two years, 70 percent said that they would support a nine percent raise over a four percent raise.

    "It's clear that Gov. Cooper is fighting for the things that matter to hard-working families across North Carolina: good jobs, higher teacher pay and access to affordable health care," spokeswoman Dory MacMillan said. "Legislative leaders should stop trying to override the budget veto and start negotiating with the governor to get the job done."

    In March 2019, Gov. Cooper proposed a budget that included a 9.1 percent teacher pay raise over two years and increasing access to affordable healthcare through expanding Medicaid. He also supports a school construction bond to fund new schools and renovations that will help get students out of trailers and into modern, updated classrooms.

    After vetoing the legislative budget that offered a paltry 3.9 percent teacher pay raise over two years, Gov. Cooper put forth a compromise budget that included an 8.5 percent teacher pay raise. After legislative leaders refused to negotiate with the Governor on a compromise solution Gov. Cooper even offered to negotiate teacher pay raises separate from any other legislative issue. Unfortunately, legislative leaders have still not agreed to come to the negotiating table.

    It has been over seven months since Gov. Cooper proposed his compromise budget and Republican legislators have refused to respond. This latest poll only reinforces the need for Republican leaders to compromise to pass a budget that will serve the needs of North Carolinians across the state.

    See WRAL's television coverage on the poll HERE.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov