The budget process continues in Raleigh, and teacher pay raises remain a hot topic of conversation.

Although nothing is final, it’s beginning to look more and more like the General Assembly is leaning toward pay raises on a scale, depending on the number of years a teacher has worked in the field. Not only that, legislators are also leaning toward following a similar formula from last year.

Last year’s pay raises gave the bulk of the money to newer teachers and raised the base salary for incoming teachers.

The reasoning behind this idea wasn’t a total loss. North Carolina desperately needs new teachers and teachers who are willing to stay for more than a year or two. Raising their salaries is, of course, a sure-fire way to attract them.

Here’s the catch: veteran teachers saw little if anything added to their paychecks. That is a disappointment.

One may picture veteran teachers as old, grumpy, stuck-in-their-ways type of employees. But in most cases, that stereotype is incorrect.

Veteran teachers are the ones with a wealth of knowledge in the field. They know what works, they’ve lived through changes and they have their jobs down to a science. No business or organization could fully function without a little bit of institutional knowledge, and by refusing these teachers a raise, the state is essentially spitting in the face of decades of service.

When Gov. Pat McCrory touts his plans for pay raises this year, stop and ask what the flip side of that is. When he praises his plan to push teacher salaries up to $50,000, remember that it is a $50,000 cap. Under that plan, no matter how many years a teacher works in North Carolina, at some point, he or she will stop receiving raises and will no longer be compensated for longevity.

New teachers should be welcomed to North Carolina, but not at the expense of those with more experience.