In a blog post, Governor Roy Cooper laid out his priorities to work with legislators to strengthen and grow the middle class through economic opportunities, restore North Carolina’s reputation, and boost North Carolina’s education system through raising teacher pay.

 

Key excerpts:

 

This legislative session, we must work to rebuild our economy, repair our reputation, and expand opportunity for hardworking families across our state.

 

We can start by removing an unnecessary economic obstacle and repeal House Bill 2. This disastrous law has cost our economy thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars and is continuing to drive businesses away from our state. I know that a bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate are ready to fully repeal HB 2.

…

 

Creating good new jobs is only part of the solution. Our students need the skills to compete in today’s workforce. And that means paying our teachers more. North Carolina currently ranks 41st in the nation in teacher pay and too many good teachers are leaving our classrooms for other states. When I was in the legislature, we worked to create a bipartisan plan to raise teacher pay to the national average. We can do it again.

 

Finally, we have to help thousands of families rebuild after Hurricane Matthew devastated much of our state.