Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tenure resolution on CMS board agenda

A resolution asking the General Assembly to defer its controversial  "25 percent plan"  so Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools can craft its own plan for teacher pay and contracts is on tonight's school board agenda.

The request seeks a reprieve from the mandate to choose 25 percent of teachers who meet requirements for experience and job ratings to receive four-year contracts and $500-a-year raises.  Instead,  CMS will ask lawmakers to save the money designated for the first year's raises and combine it with additional state money for a revamped pay scale and contract plan to be designed by CMS.

It's a less confrontational approach than that taken by Guilford and Durham counties,  which have voted to take the state to court to block the 25 percent plan.

Teachers applaud Wake's vote
Wake County's board drew a large, enthusiastic crowd of teachers and supporters when it passed a resolution last week seeking repeal of the law.  The resolution didn't appear on the CMS agenda until Monday,  so it's unclear how much audience response this one will draw.  But there's still time to sign up for the three-minute public comment period;  call 980-343-5139  by noon or sign up on site before the meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St.


24 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are playing with my emotions MAN.

bobcat99 said...

I wish I could commend CMS for taking a different tack and staying out of court. But I don't think this will be a successful strategy. The new NC General Assembly seems to understand nothing but raw power. They seem to harbor a grudge against the state's urban areas particularly and put forth legislation that robs localities of power at every turn. The state's school system has been disrespected by members of both parties for years, but Tillis and Berger took it a step further. At some point, CMS will have to fight back hard.

Unknown said...

.
WINTER WEATHER ALERT

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board is walking on thin ice and I wish them a safe journey. The situation requires the Board to make the security of its teachers the number two priority; behind child safety but ahead of student achievement. That is a mission change that I hope is only temporary.

This is a case where I support whatever costs are necessary to affect the work of the General Assembly.

Bolyn McClung
Pineville
.

Suzy Q. said...

So we're changing things again? Does any mandate or reform in Education ever mean anything in the state of NC? I support the teachers but this is just getting laughable.

gwalkerruns said...

500 is only 50 per month before taxes. Some counties are talking about doing a lottery. Other than the
Plan to give raises only to new teachers, this is McCrory's dumbest idea....and that's saying something!

Pamela Grundy said...

It's been great to see the way that the votes in Guilford, Durham and Wake have inspired those county's teachers by making them feel empowered and strongly supported. Not sure this rather timid resolution will have the same effect here.

Anonymous said...

The CMS board of education is stacked with Democrats and retired teachers who have no interest in tenure reform. The alliance between teachers and their Democratic backers in urban boards of education is rock solid.

Tenure reform will continue to be paid lip service at CMS, but will never happen unless the state forces the issue. Look for CMS to kick and scream about this until the state eventually forces the county to modernize.

Anonymous said...

The only right thing to do is put teachers on the scale where they are supposed to be before all the freezes started. Can this punitive garbage and start honoring what was promised. Incompetent law makers have made a royal mess!!!!YOUR teachers taught you better than that!

Anonymous said...

What the superintendent put forward is weak and embarrassing. Other districts showed they CARE; the beard showed cares about spin (but then should we be surprised by this when he spun increased grad rates in Reno by changing accounting practices? Parents, students and teachers need to Fear the Beard. He will do what he wants regardless of sentiment ( backing common core??) I tell you what I am wary of someone who always tells you what he believes when his actions do not bear out the same.

Nameless said...

Diminish experienced teachers. Put in young college grads(that the State/colleges make money off of & promised to get jobs) most who don't have a clue how to deal with parents or kids in their classroom. They "cut and paste teach" from the internet, tout tech gadgetry but don't know how to use it and would be overwhelmed without tenured or long term teachers to train or mentor them.
Pay the college grads more and with incentives and give them raises before those long term teachers who train them. Drive experienced teachers to give up or quit.

Punish all teachers with performance evaluations that take no consideration that teachers have no control over home life or motivation of parents or students.

Lock the school doors, exclude parents and volunteers.

Put students in front of a computer to watch 'engaging' educational presentations.
Take an online test.

Eventually "education" will be done at home.
No schools.
No teachers.

...that scenario is where all this is headed and has been for a long while.
Thanks partly to The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

There are solutions but no one is willing to take them. Part of that is for our State to be willing to defend our teachers; individually or as a group.

Anonymous said...

I don't even care about tenure. I do my job. We have lost 3 teachers this year and not one of them have been replaced. The problem is not getting rid of teachers. It's finding replacements. I could careless about Mcory, Tillis and Berger respect. I want to be able to pay the bills. Next year will be another year without a pay increase. I pay over $700 dollars a check for health insurance for my family. Every year it increases. Who knows what Obama cares going to do? After 11years of teaching, 40k is not cutting it. I don't want to leave. I voted for Mcory, but he is not the same guy that was mayor.

gwalkerruns said...

11:20, tenure does not keep teachers from being fired. If tenure bothers you, don't fret. Only one in three teachers make it to tenure. The low pay and conditions make tenure obsolete.

Anonymous said...

What's laughable, is the teacher pay in this state. Most teachers I have talked with didn't even know what "career status" was. All they knew was the extra work they had to do to earn it. This is not Chicago or New York. We do not need to go after teachers as if they where in a Union. Since I have lived here getting teachers has been the problem. My sons school has lost a handful of teachers already this year. Teachers usually don't leave until summer break. Who can blame them.

Anonymous said...

I wish CMS would support it's teachers. I think it's to political here.

Anonymous said...

Turn off FOX and look at your state. We don't have a problem getting rid of teachers. We have a problem keeping them. I voted for Tillis and Mcory but this misguided legislation is strange.

Anonymous said...

Young teachers are cheap. That's why they got raise. That and elections are coming in November.

Anonymous said...

Interesting that most of the posts here are about teacher pay and not tenure. Tenure is really hard to defend. At least not since news stories have come out about how tenure keeps incompetent or even criminal teachers in their jobs. Shhhhhh, don't talk about tenure. Let's distract everyone with low pay stories. They'll forget about tenure.

Anonymous said...

If I didn't earn career status, I was told my career was over. I would loose my job. I spent the whole year taking on extra duties and giving presentations. This state is very strange.

Anonymous said...

I was waiting for the fool who does not understand what we have here in North Carolina. 8:16, you came along at the right time. Career status as it is in nc affords a teacher due process rights. Our constitution includes that to, what do you know? (Don't answer that - it's not much...) anyway if admins do their jobs then the bad teachers get fired. Hell I am all for a bad teacher getting fired. But there needs to be a real reason why you are being fired, not just because your principal does not like you.

Anonymous said...

Wrong state, and why are we whispering?

Anonymous said...

Most large corporations have a procedure for employee terminations. This is not New York. We do not have waiting rooms full of teachers waiting to be given due process. To me this is a non issue. The timing was awful. NC seems to be a teacher drop out state. Not a job for life state. Three teachers were fired 5 years ago for post and pics they had on their Facebook pages. 3 or 4 years ago a teacher was forced out for being accused of touching a student " inappropriately". In court it was discovered that the girl and her friends had lied. The teacher was no nonsense and expected his students to work. From all accounts the young man was a very good teacher. He later sued CMS and was awarded half a million dollars. This it what is happening in NC. I am not concerned with other states.

Anonymous said...

8:28, shhhh your in a news bubble :)

Anonymous said...

Heath might want some help from Ruth Samuelson, like Pete and Duke Energy expected.

Anonymous said...

8:16, sorry not 8:28..