Teacher pay, taxes and charters: What's on table

Rep. Bill Brawley, a Matthews Republican,  wants to order counties to levy a 1-cent property tax hike for teacher raises.

Hartsell

Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, a Concord Republican,  wants to let school districts get involved in authorizing charter schools.

And Reps. Becky Carney and Beverly Earle, Democrats from Charlotte, are among a group that wants to tighten state supervision of charter schools.

Welcome to the 2014 legislative session,  which is supposed to be relatively short and simple.

Ha.

Last year's long session brought plenty of surprises in public education.  I'm beginning to see why so many of us got caught off guard.  I've trolled through the list of bills filed in the first two weeks and come up with this list.  I don't pretend to understand them all,  let alone feel confident about which stand a chance and which are DOA.

In the spirit of crowdsourcing,  I'm linking everyone up and eager to hear thoughts. (HB signifies a House bill, SB a Senate bill.)

Brawley

Teacher pay: SB 833 and HB 1186 direct the state Board of Education to come up with a performance pay plan for educators to roll out in 2016-17. SB 787, which I reported on recently, requires that at least 51 percent of the state allocation for K-12 education go toward classroom teachers. HB 1174 extends the cutoff date to qualify for additional pay based on earning a master's degree. And Brawley's HB 1177 calls for the additional 1-cent property tax for teacher raises.

Tenure:  HB 1199 would restore career status, commonly known as tenure,  after last summer's decision to phase it out by 2018.  A Wake County judge recently ruled that decision unconstitutional.

Common Core:  SB 812 and HB 1061 call for rejecting the Common Core standards and creating a new study commission to create standards specific to North Carolina.

Carney

Online classes:  SB 748 and HB 1039 provide a tuition waiver for private-school students to take N.C. Virtual Public School courses.

Charter schools:  SB 754 and HB 1041 would allow school districts and public universities to grant preliminary approval for charter schools, with the final decisions continuing to rest with the state Board of Education. HB 1085 strengthens supervision of charter schools. SB 752, HB 1042 and SB 793 set up an appeal process for charter applicants rejected by the state advisory board. SB 793 also raises the application fee to $1,000 and clarifies that charter schools are subject to the same public records law, including disclosure of salaries, as other public bodies. HB 1084 would establish an alternative accountability system for charter schools that serve large percentages of students with disabilities.

Vouchers:  HB 1075 would repeal the Opportunity Scholarship program and restore the $10 million set aside for it to public schools.

Earle

School calendar:  HB 1049 would give local districts more flexibility in deciding when to start and stop the school year.

Money:  HB 1107 would require the state to spend specific percentages of lottery money on school construction.  SB 789 would provide extra money for  "geographically sparse"  small school districts. (That wouldn't seem to affect the Charlotte area,  unless it reduced the money available for bigger districts.)  HB 1119 would provide a tax credit for teachers who spend their own money on classroom supplies.  HB 1063 would appropriate $340,000 to restore the teacher cadet program for high school students.

Safety: HB 1062 and SB 770 would require public schools to provide keys and schematic diagrams to law enforcement.

Education data:  SB 806 and HB 1150 deal with data for K-12 and higher education, but darned if I can figure out what these bills mean. SB815 deals with privacy of student records.

South suburban officials line up for Bailey

Matthews Mayor Pro Tem Paul Bailey,  one of three candidates seeking the District 6 school board seat,  rolled out a roster of endorsements Tuesday from four state legislators and 15 local officials from the southern suburbs.

Bailey

"Most of these people I have long-term relationships with and have worked with on Matthews town council,"  said Bailey,  who's serving his ninth term.  "I asked and everybody said yes.  It was a surprise to me,  but a pleasant surprise."

Bailey worked with political consultant Larry Shaheen to kick off his campaign with the lineup of support.  On his list:  State Sens. Jeff Tarte and Bob Rucho (both Republicans); N.C. Reps. Bill Brawley (R) and Tricia Cotham (D);  Bill James, a Republican serving his eighth term representing roughly the same district on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners; Tim Morgan,  who was elected to the District 6 school board seat in 2009 and moved into an at-large seat in 2011; Matthews Mayor Jim Taylor and all five members of the Matthews town council; former Matthews Mayor Lee Myers; Mint Hill Mayor Ted Biggers and all four Mint Hill town commissioners.

The announcement jump-starts what has been a fairly low-key school board campaign so far.  I don't recall seeing a lineup like this in district school board races,  especially coming all at once in the early days of a campaign.

Bailey's two opponents,  first-time candidates Bolyn McClung and Doug Wrona,  are running very different types of campaigns.

Wrona

Wrona, a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher and tutor,  is a self-described progressive Democrat running in a heavily Republican district  (party affiliation isn't on the Nov. 5 ballot,  but we all know it  plays a role).  He couldn't be reached for comment on Bailey's endorsements,  but he has said he won't raise or spend more than $1,000 on his campaign.

Bolyn McClung,  a Pineville Republican,  said Monday he has decided not to seek donations or endorsements,  though he'll be doing  "heavy advertising"  with his own money.  He said he wants to run on his own record,  which includes co-chairing the successful 2007 bond campaign,  serving on CMS advisory boards and regularly attending school board and committee meetings.

McClung

When told about the names on Bailey's endorsement list,  McClung replied:  "There's some people on that list that are really great supporters of CMS."

But after pondering the legislators who are backing Bailey,  McClung emailed an additional response:  "In these hard economic times,  I have decided against actively seeking financial support or personal recommendations for my campaign.  My record for public education is long and strong.  However,  if I were to ask for support,  it would not be from those in Raleigh who are responsible for cutting public education."

Note:  Please be patient waiting for your comments to post.  I've set it for moderation because I'm off today and don't want to open it to political name-calling.  But I'll have my tablet and post comments as quickly as I can.

Making friends in Raleigh

State Rep. Bill Brawley had an interesting explanation for his support of  a bill that would free Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools from state calendar restrictions:  CMS earned it.

Brawley

Brawley,  a Matthews Republican who was a CMS parent until his youngest graduated in 2009,  has long been skeptical toward district leadership.  H characterizes the longstanding attitude as:  "We're CMS. Do what we tell you."  Just last year,  after Brawley watched a newly elected Democratic majority on the school board appoint a Democrat to represent the heavily-GOP south suburbs,  he spoke about how that leadership was creating the kind of fear and anger that leads to talk of splitting the district.

But now,  he says,  things are different.  Case in point:  Constituents recently came to Brawley with concerns about the safety of a bus stop.  Brawley went to CMS,  and instead of reminding him of rules against changing locations midyear,  the leaders listened,  agreed they had a case and made the change.

"I don't think it was a big issue to them,  but it was a big issue in my district,"  Brawley said this week.  "They trusted me.  I'm going to trust them."

Brawley gives some of the credit to Superintendent Heath Morrison,  who started last summer,  and some to the board's leadership team,  elected in December.  Chairman Mary McCray,  a Democrat,  and Vice Chairman Tim Morgan,  a Republican,  have been building stronger relationships with the GOP-dominated team in Raleigh,  he said.

Cotham

So when Rep. Tricia Cotham,  a Democrat,  asked Brawley to join her in sponsoring House Bill 509,  he agreed.  Brawley said he doesn't have strong feelings about the calendar restrictions,  so he could show his support for CMS without compromising his principles.  That's how political relationships work,  he says;  you don't get everything you want,  but in a close call,  goodwill can be the difference between success and failure.

That's not to say CMS is assured of getting the calendar flexibility the board requested in this year's legislative agenda.  The bill exempting CMS would have to pass both houses and get the governor's signature.  But bipartisan sponsorship can't hurt.

"What you're seeing is a rare beast in 21st century America,"  Brawley said.  "It's bipartisan cooperation.  There is a point where we're all trying to serve the constituents,  and when that happens it's a good thing."