North Carolina’s new commission on teacher compensation has an opportunity to move the state beyond the familiar debate over pay raises and rankings and build an entirely better pay system. This year’s state budget brought the largest pay raise for starting teachers in North Carolina in the last 50 years. The average teacher pay raise is 8%, bringing North Carolina’s average educator pay to the highest in the Southeast. They announced its formation in March and tasked the 29 members with studying teacher pay and what North Carolina should reward in the compensation system. For context, North Carolina funds most teacher compensation through the state salary schedule, while local districts add supplements that vary widely.