Just when you thought changes to teacher pay couldn't get any more confusing, Gov. Pat McCrory announced Wednesday that he had "found" money "to ensure that over 3,000 teachers currently pursuing their master's degrees will receive a salary increase when they graduate, an investment of over $10 million."
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| McCrory: Found $10 million |
That's probably good news for teachers who felt like this year's budget bill cheated them out of the chance to get a raise they'd been promised when they enrolled, or who thought they'd have to work at breakneck pace to squeak in past an uncertain deadline. The clamor to revise that plan has been growing, with some Mecklenburg legislators saying the vote was a mistake and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Heath Morrison urging them to grandfather all teachers who had begun work on advanced degrees.
But exactly how will McCrory's $10 million plan play out? Will it put him at odds with legislators who voted to cut off anyone who hadn't earned the 10 percent raise by this school year? Is this a one-time infusion, or an assurance that they'll keep the raise throughout their careers? I don't know, and journalists who were at Wednesday's school board meeting in Raleigh seem confused, too. WRAL reported that McCrory didn't take questions from reporters and his advisers couldn't explain details. A statement posted by McCrory's office doesn't shed much light.
Lynn Bonner, an education reporter with the News & Observer, says it was a confusing situation. She's planning to file on the issue, and I'll keep you posted as I learn anything more. Update: Here's her detailed report, and it's more confusing than ever. Apparently the governor's office and the state Board of Education disagree on who has authority to extend this, and the governor's office later clarified that he just plans to propose adding the $10 million to the 2014-15 budget.
Meanwhile, I can't help wondering how much money is lying around the governor's office. It wasn't long ago that McCrory proposed creating an innovation fund to offer $10,000 stipends to 1,000 top teachers, another $10 million plan.
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18 comments:
I said weeks ago the legislature could have found money for teacher raises.
...I believe the legislature could have found money to start giving back what teachers lost.
August 3, 2013 at 5:36 PM
Imagine that. Found money.
I'm sure it was one of those well-qualified, 24-year-olds making $80,000 a year who found the money for our teachers! Way to go Pat!
Anon 7:37, I know you said that tongue in cheek but you are probably right. A few bright objective minds could sort this whole thing out and get NC back on track including teacher pay, see below.
There are so many nooks and crannies in the NC budget that Democrats have created over the years that it will take the Republicans at least 10 years to find it all. One such cranny funded Gov Bev's dad pier to be rebuilt.
Best way to find the money and get this state back to educating children is to tell the feds to go away with their money.
Gov Pat knows what end he wants this state working toward, good jobs for an educated work force. Right now, he knows there is not much the state can do with the feds in the middle of it and superintendents and school boards working hard to keep the status quo.
This state has lost so many good jobs in the textile and furniture business. The tobacco industry is in shambles which once created the money stream to fund these efforts.
First the state has got to run off the unproductive class that should be working. Next it has got to run off the illegals who send so much money back to their countries. Did you know that exported American dollars is the second highest GNP of Mexico?
Yes I do not like the way government education is going but if you think the NC legislature is the sole driver of that, you need to look at swamp land in Florida. It is reacting to Race To The Top mandates from the feds, influences form the Gates and Broad Foundations, and urban demands for more entitlements and handouts. No wonder they want to give the NC children some alternatives.
By definition there are no objective minds in politics, but it's nice to see that you presume Republicans are objective and Democrats are crooks.
Pray tell what you mean by running off the unproductive class that should be working. Sounds like you have racist tendencies -- for what it's worth.
McCrory is trying to position himself as a "moderate" which he probably is compared to the knuckle draggers in the Gen Assembly. But he should have thought about this when he was signing voter suppression legislation. Too late Pat.
You just don't find 10 million dollars! Wake up! It's been there the whole time. Political game in progress!
Don't let Patty play you for a fool. He didn't "find" any money, it always existed and now he's feeling the pressure. The NC General Assembly controlled by the GOP and Patty has shined a negative light on the state. To include, Patty's approval poll numbers are the worse in the nation at only 38% for a governor!
Don't be fooled, vote out the GOP supermajority in 2014 and kick Patty to the curb in 2016!
Anon 9:59pm.
Racist tendencies?
Gee, I never realized the "unproductive class" was a race...
Maybe you're just a bit too sensitive on this topic.
Or know too many "unproductive" people of a particular race.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A later start to the school day could help teenagers get the most from their classroom time and local districts should consider delaying the first bell, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday......
.....School districts would still be free to set their own start times, Duncan insisted in a broadcast interview, but he pointed to research that backs up his comments that rested students are ready students. Duncan said he would not be telling local school leaders when their first bells should ring and said it was up to local leaders to make the decisions on their own.....
....[Whalstrom]..."If they are getting out of bed before 8 a.m., the biology says they are not ready," she said. "It hits home as high up as the White House."
I love the "suggestions" coming from Washington.
Arne is correct. There is plenty of research proving that age appropriate bell schedules impact academics in a positive way. Educating teens at 7:15am and 1st graders at 9:15 makes no sense at all CMS! Hopefully the Council of Great City Schools will help CMS (and earn their $18,000!)
10 Million dollars won't stop you from becoming a one term governor. Teachers, if they are intelligent at all will leave this state to the rats and ruin in which it belongs.
Dunkin' is right.
How can kids find time for Midnight Basketball if they have to get up for school at 8am?
question...just read an article that stated each teacher at McClintock Middle School received an Ipad-along with a set of 10 for each classroom. WHO PAID FOR THAT?
Someone please answer this question!
No money was found. It was always there. Maybe not on the official books, but it was there.
And for those cheerleaders of later starts it's called jet lag. So yeah, you can reset and control your circadian rhythms.
To 8:35 Jet lag comment - do you fly 5 days a week? I don't know anyone that has jet lag 5 days a week for 9 months of the year, except maybe the President or a very high paid adult executive who has chosen his/her profession and lifestyle. Our high school students are perpetually tired.
My point is I find it interesting that CMS has chosen 7:15am as an appropriate, reasonable and beneficial start time for high school (teenage) students. That would mean that the students are going to bed a 8:30-9:00pm to get their recommended 9 hours of sleep per night. That is NOT happening. CMS is absolutely wrong on this one. Teenagers would only benefit mentally, physically and academically with a slightly later start time and High schools would experience happier, more alert, better prepared, well fed, better rested students and lower tardy rates.
I'm no Arne Duncan fan but he is right on this one.
I am happy to see commenters posting about the school start times. My kindergarten daughter used to start school at 7:30, getting on the bus in the dark at 6:40. It was awful. Thankfully the school now starts at 8:00. She is in 4th grade and gets on the bus at 7:15 now. Just a 30 minute difference as made a world of difference for the students and staff at our school. I can only imagine that a similar change would have even better results for older students.
The funny money games continue in Raleigh and Washington. Hard to trust anyone, D or R nowadays.
As far as the schools, children used to have to get up and milk cows, go to school, come home and work on the farm some more and go to bed at sundown. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) those days are gone. Children don't necessitate the early start times, and stay up using technology, doing homework, sports, etc. It is a different world and the good ole days are gone.
Pay Teachers and bring back their BENEFITS !
COMMON GOAL for a COMMON CORE
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