Walkout? Contract rejection? N.C. teachers simmering

Talk about a Nov. 4 North Carolina teacher walkout is floating on social media,  but will anything happen?

That's hard to tell.  Five hundred people have clicked "coming"  on the Facebook page for the walkout,  created by Mike Ladidadi  --  a false name,  according to a Huffington Post article on the walkout posted on Ladidadi's page. An unsigned  "NC Teacher Walkout" blog was recently added to the mix.

Online comments and conversations I've had with teachers reflect a tension between the desire to jolt lawmakers and the public and fear that staying home will jeopardize jobs and harm students.

Calabro

 "I am not sure that walking out is the the thing to do, but sure am motivated to do something," said  Beverly Woods Elementary teacher Marie Calabro, who has been trying to rally teachers and their supporters to stand outside schools every Wednesday afternoon to demonstrate support.  "To be honest, I think having a walkout may be a bit premature, and I wish teachers would either join NCAE and/or write their officials."

The N.C. Association of Educators isn't endorsing the walkout,  and is reminding members that striking or taking part in a "sick out"  is risky business in a right-to-work state.

"NCAE understands that this walkout is the consequence of the General Assembly and Governor McCrory for failing to live up to their constitutional requirements to enact budgets and policies that provide for a sound, basic education for all students in North Carolina’s public schools," the group's statement to members says. "NCAE is working within the legal and political systems to hold the politicians accountable for their actions this past year, including replacing them with elected leaders who will stand up for public education."

Judy Kidd, president of the Charlotte-based Classroom Teachers Association, isn't endorsing the walkout either.

But regardless of whether they're willing to take that kind of action,  many educators say they're far from ready to forget about a 2013 legislative session that brought sweeping changes for public education,  from the abolition of tenure and master's degree pay to the perpetuation of a pay scale that's gaining North Carolina a reputation as among the nation's worst places for teachers.

Kidd and Charles Smith, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators, say the next battle may come when districts follow the state mandate to offer four-year contracts to 25 percent of teachers for 2014-15.  Those contracts will offer a $500-a-year raise for those four years in exchange for teachers signing away all rights to tenure.  Superintendent Heath Morrison recently told the school board he's trying to figure out how the state expects the selection process to work.

Kidd and Smith say they both expect the tenure changes in this year's budget to be challenged in court.  "I encourage anybody who's offered a four-year contract with a $500 raise to turn it down and let the courts rule,"  Kidd said.

Smith said the NCAE and CMAE haven't taken a position yet on the new contracts. But personally,  he's with Kidd.  Anyone who signs away tenure won't be eligible to get it back if the courts rule against the new system,  he said.

"If you offer me (the four-year contract) I'm going to tell you 'no thanks,' " Smith said.  "To paraphrase the old saying,  you can have my tenure when you pry my cold, dead fingers from it."

Teacher wants Wednesday walks of support

After reading one teacher's open letter to legislators,  Marie Calabro,  a fourth-grade teacher at Beverly Woods Elementary,  came up with her own plan to keep educators'  plight in legislators'  minds:  Walk to the Sidewalk Wednesdays.

Calabro

"Every Wednesday beginning on Aug. 28 and continuing until legislation has changed, every concerned teacher,  administrator,  parent,  student and citizen will walk to the sidewalks in front of every public school at precisely 5 p.m. and stand in solidarity and concern,"  Calabro proposes.  "Numbers and names will be collected,  tallied,  and sent to  (Gov.)  Pat McCrory,  (House Speaker Thom) Tillis,  and other state representatives along with a letter of concern. We will roar with a silent,  peaceful,  but forceful message that we love the children of North Carolina,  that we appreciate and revere the noble teaching profession,  that we are committed to higher levels of education for ourselves,  our students and our society.  However,  we are embarrassed to be teachers,  administrators,  parents,  students and citizens in the state of North Carolina in the year 2013, and we would like our state to move in the opposite direction in which it is going."

Like many other educators, Calabro is dismayed by the state's falling national ranking for teacher pay and by changes such as eliminating tenure and extra pay for advanced degrees.  Like many,  she thought about staging a walk-out from work.  But organizing a walk-out in a right-to-work state isn't a smart career move.  So she decided to follow Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools colleague Justin Ashley's approach to helping legislators see teachers as respectful and respectable neighbors.

"We will not be protesting during school hours or on school property,"  she said.  "We will not be screaming or yelling.  We will be peaceful,  hold signs, and stand firm in our belief that North Carolina can be,  once again,  at the top of the list for student achievement as well as teacher and parent satisfaction."

It's not a highly organized event.  Calabro encourages others who want to take part to contact her on Facebook.  She's hoping sidewalk Wednesdays will spread from her south Charlotte school to become a wider movement.