Gaston County Proposes 25-Cent Sales Tax for Teacher Pay, Budget Vote Set This Month

Gaston County Commissioners pitched a quarter-cent sales tax hike to fund schools and raise teacher salaries. Voters must approve it first.

Chad Brown chairs the Board of Commissioners. He clarified the tax wouldn't touch property taxes and is technically a sales tax that already exists within county boundaries. Commissioners will vote on their budget soon. Then they'll wait to see if it lands on November's ballot.

"One of the biggest things we need to make sure that everybody does know, is that our teachers are important resource. We're trying to do everything we can," Brown said, according to WBTV.

Brown spelled out how the tax works. People buying goods or services in Gaston County would pay it. "When you think about the cost of living, insurance rates, those are all the things that happen inside of a municipality or a government system. They never stop. The only thing they do is raise. So we're trying to figure out how we can take the burden off of the county citizens and also to make sure that we provide a good service for them when they do need this," he said.

Many locals back the plan. Jhai Baxter quit teaching in Waco because she couldn't survive on what they paid her. She thinks this proposal fixes a serious problem.

"I used to teach in Waco and I had to leave because of the pay. I couldn't afford to teach," Baxter said. "It's not fair how these teachers are being treated. We have to do something so they can continue to teach our future leaders."

Baxter praised the county for acting while state lawmakers drag their feet. "I believe it's an excellent idea, because we must take the necessary steps to ensure that our teachers receive the fair compensation," she said. "They do a lot of work and it's just the pay in the work does not match at all."

Josh Crisp chairs the Board of Education. He thanked commissioners in a written statement. "We are grateful for the county commissioners' efforts to address teacher pay, and we appreciate their willingness to work with the state legislature to have a sales tax increase proposal on the ballot for voters to decide," Crisp wrote.