GARNER, N.C. (WNCN) — Governor Roy Cooper spent his afternoon at Garner Magnet High School where he announced new funding initiatives for North Carolina educators.

“We have more than 5,000 teacher vacancies in our public schools right now. We need to work to attract and retain those teachers and one of the best ways to do it is to show them that we respect them,” Gov. Cooper said.

“We need to make sure that is reflected in our budgets,” he added, pointing to needed investments in school counselors, social workers and better salaries for teachers.

To help make becoming an NC teacher more feasible, Gov. Cooper announced that $3 million in GEAR funding will be used to pay for teacher license exam fees across North Carolina.

The funds, Cooper said, will be administered by Teach NC as reimbursement for exam fees.

“It’s so that they know going into this that they can recoup that money,” Gov. Cooper said.