efore heaping too much praise on the governor and the General Assembly for finally passing the 2014-15 state budget last week, there are some hidden facts that most North Carolina citizens are unaware of. Most of the public reading the headlines “North Carolina Teachers Receive 7 percent pay increase,” are thinking, “Great! The teachers deserve it.” However the headlines are very misleading. Here’s what actually transpired last week. Beginning teachers will see a 14 percent increase over the next two years. Starting salaries go from $30,000 to $32,000 this year with an additional $2,200 the following year. Salary increases will now be given every five years for all teachers. Educators with 6 to 10 years of experience will also receive sizeable gains in their pay. Experienced teachers with more than 10 years in the classroom will see minimal increases in their wages every five years until they retire. They can expect to retire after 30 years of service to the state making $50,000 annually. To pay for the “increase” longevity is being taken away from teachers. For those of you unfamiliar with longevity pay, here’s what it entails. For many, many years state employees with 10 or more years of service have been receiving a yearly bonus or longevity check. The more years of service, the larger the bonus. The adopted budget is taking away longevity and folding it into salary increases for teachers. In effect lawmakers are giving teachers a raise with money they have already earned. All other school personnel and state employees will continue to receive longevity pay. For teachers who wish to better their teaching skills by earning a master’s degree, there will be no increase in pay. Compensation will only be awarded to teachers and instructional support personnel who have completed at least one course prior to Aug. 1, 2013, and those whose jobs require a master’s degree. Moving forward, there will be no compensation for earning a master’s degree. Funding for teacher assistants has been cut by $85 million which will result in approximately 3.300 positions being cut. Office staff who work in schools will receive a $500 increase in pay. All other state office staff will receive a $1,000 increase. The budget adds $800,000 in new money for the Opportunity Scholarships. These are taxpayer dollars that help fund private schools and does not hold them accountable for how the money is spent. It is clear that lawmakers have very little respect for teachers with experience. Their efforts have been focused on raising the salary for beginning teachers while leaving experienced teachers out of the picture. For educators with 25 years or more of experience in the classroom, they are receiving a .3 percent increase in pay for the coming year, which means they have received a 1.5 percent increase in pay since 2009. As in most professions, the workers with the most experience tend to be the best and most valued employees. Our General Assembly has put forth very little incentive to keep experienced teachers in the classroom. No wonder the number of college students who are choosing teaching as their career is down significantly. And no wonder the lines were very long last week when the Houston, Texas school system came to North Carolina to recruit teachers to their city offering a starting salary of $49,000. The future of public education in our state is in dire jeopardy, and the only way we can save it is to elect state representatives who are pro-public education and place value on all teachers by offering a decent salary with decent benefits. Please do your research and vote responsibly on Nov. 4. As a retired public school teacher with more than 30 years of experience under my belt, I can tell you that the difference between a great class and a poor class rests with the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Parents, beware! Unless things change dramatically, in just a few short years the Alamance-Burlington School System will be looking for a warm body to become your child’s teacher.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 01:04:25 +0000
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