RALEIGH -- Teachers across North Carolina will be getting a pay raise in Governor Pat McCrory's proposed budget for next fiscal year. The governor presented his budget on Wednesday as the state legislators are back for the short session. Governor McCrory added that another area the budget will focus on is coal ash.

The governor said, "We want to protect our natural resources and our water. And the fact of the matter is there has been one issue that has been neglected in North Carolina for the last 60 years, and that is the coal ash issue. And that is why, in my budget, I am proposing an additional 19 position to increase oversight in coal ash ponds throughout North Carolina."

McCrory added that he is asking departments to cut costs, citing his example of putting the state's helicopter up for sale due to it's inefficiency. All budget fixes must happen by the start of the fiscal year July 1.