What will it take to give raises to county-funded teachers?

The state legislature gave teachers a raise this year worth roughly about 5 percent in total pay. If you're well-versed in how school districts get their money, you'll know that it doesn't apply to all of them.

Mecklenburg County pays the salaries of about 2,800 employee positions in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, with about 1,000 being teachers. They don't automatically get those raises that state-funded teachers get.

County commissioners set aside a little more than $7 million earlier this year to give their teachers raises without knowing what the legislature was going to do. That would be enough for about a 3 percent raise. Obviously, that wouldn't be enough to match what the state is doing.

County Manager Dena Diorio says they're still trying to piece together a final figure on how much it will cost. Back when the budget was passed, board members said they were committed to paying for the pay raises. Chairman Trevor Fuller said he believes the board will still do so.

"We don't want the county funded teachers to suffer," he said. "We did anticipate that it would take a little more than we set aside, we just didn't know what that number was."

Bill James

It's still unclear where the money would come from in the county budget. And it looks like getting that money sent over to CMS won't be smooth sailing. Commissioner Bill James said by email that he wouldn't vote for it.

"I don’t intend on providing them any additional money," he said. "It would set a very bad precedent to do so, since if we did (after setting the tax rate) everyone that wanted county dollars would be back around asking for a do-over."

In an email to county government leaders, he said he'd want to see that CMS was making cuts to lower-priority areas to make raises work.

"Just because the number isn't ‘enough’ doesn't make it the county’s responsibility to fix," he said.

The county will likely talk about what to do at its next regular meeting, Sept. 2.

Senate walkout a first for Morrison

Heath Morrison came to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools with a reputation for his work with the Nevada state legislature, and he's worn out the pavement between here and Raleigh since taking this job two years ago.

But Wednesday morning's Senate walkout as Morrison prepared to speak to the budget conference committee was a first for him.

Morrison

The senators weren't objecting to the CMS superintendent personally.  They were protesting the House members' insistence on summoning three superintendents to talk about the harm that would come from the Senate proposal to cut teacher assistants.

Morrison voiced gratitude that the Senate,  House and governor's plans include teacher raises,  but said the Senate plan would cost CMS 817 assistant jobs.  Assistants average about $19,000 a year,  he said,  describing them as  "some of the best bangs for our buck that we have in our state."  If they lose their jobs,  Morrison said,  they could end up collecting $14,000 a year in unemployment and health benefits from the state.  Giving up their skills to save $5,000 a year is  "not a good return on investment,"  he told the House members who remained.

Tillis

House Speaker Thom Tillis,  R-Mecklenburg,  asked Morrison whether he'd prefer to keep the two-year budget approved last summer,  which includes no raise for teachers and other state employees,  or get a revised budget that includes raises but eliminates 800 teacher jobs that were promised for 2014-15.  Morrison compared that question to the movie "Sophie's Choice,"  in which Nazis force a woman to choose between her two children.  "I don't think either of those are particularly appealing,"  he said.

In response to another question from Tillis,  Morrison said that the Senate plan,  which provides the largest teacher raises,  would require going back to Mecklenburg County commissioners for more money or cutting $6 million to $7 million from the 2014-15 budget to match those raises for teachers paid with county money.

When Frank Till,  Cumberland County's superintendent,  spoke about the importance of teacher assistants,  Tillis posed what he described as  "a slightly fairer choice:"  Would he prefer the House plan,  which gives raises averaging 5 percent,  or the Senate plan,  where raises average 11 percent but teacher assistants and other aspects of public education are cut?

"I'd rather not make draconian cuts and have a smaller raise,"  Till said.  He added that he'd prefer to see the state raise more revenue,  but said he understood that legislators don't consider that an option.

"We agree on that,"  Tillis said with a laugh.  (By the way,  if you want to listen in on legislative discussions,  check the House and Senate calendars near the top of the General Assembly web page, then find the appropriate audio link.)

Morrison said afterward he wasn't offended by the walkout:   "I had a number of Senate members come out and chat on the way out, and thanked me for what we are doing in CMS and for coming up to testify,"  he emailed in response to my query.  "They wanted me to know that their issue was respecting the rules they had established (with) the House not a lack of respect for the superintendents and teachers speaking." 

CMS/Meck talk on sales tax sparks war of words

A meeting scheduled today between leaders of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Mecklenburg County sparked allegations by Commissioner Bill James that it's a  "secret meeting"  to plot strategy for a November referendum on a sales tax hike.

School board Vice Chair Tim Morgan and Commissioners' Chair Trevor Fuller say it's simply a session for county officials to brief their CMS counterparts on the plan for a quarter-cent increase that would go toward teacher raises.

Morgan

Morgan,  a Republican,  says he and CMS board Chair Mary McCray requested the meeting after commissioners approved the sales tax referendum in May.  He said they had been reading about the plan in the newspaper but hadn't gotten a first-hand report.  If approved,  the hike is expected to raise up to $35 million a year,  with 80 percent for CMS salaries and the rest divided among CPCC,  the Arts & Science Council and libraries.

A meeting was set to include Morgan,  McCray,  Fuller,  commissioners' Vice Chair Dumont Clarke,  County Manager Dena Diorio and Superintendent Heath Morrison.

Morgan said commissioner Matthew Ridenhour,  also a Republican,  texted him to ask if such a meeting was happening.  "I said 'absolutely,' "  Morgan said Tuesday.  "It's not a secret to our folks."

Ridenhour

Ridenhour said he contacted the board services office and was told it was a leadership meeting which he couldn't attend. He then emailed Fuller and other commissioners,  saying he understood that it was a meeting to craft a memo that commissioners would eventually vote on.

"Given the subject matter of the meeting,  the allocation of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars,  I had hoped to sit in on this meeting so I could be fully aware of what was being discussed. ...  I was quite surprised to learn that I am not allowed to attend the meeting, nor are any other Commissioners allowed to attend,"  he wrote.  Ridenhour asked that the county clerk take minutes for the full board to review.

James,  a Republican,  took the matter further in an email copied to news media:  "This meeting sounds like a secret planning meeting to figure out how to present the sales tax proposal to the media/public without them knowing about the details in advance.  If the Democrats want to do that they should just go somewhere else other than the government center to hatch their plans. They certainly shouldn’t involve the County Manager and sup(erintendent)."

James

"I would point out that government resources of ANY kind can’t be used to promote or support a ballot initiative,"  James added.  "Ultimately, what is the reason for meeting with CMS and the various managers but to coordinate ballot support in violation of state law."  He said Morrison and Diorio count as such resources and their participation is  "ill-advised and I believe illegal."

Fuller,  a Democrat,  responded that Ridenhour's message was riddled with inaccuracies.  There is no plan to draft a memo,  he said.

Fuller

"The unremarkable fact is that the chair of the school board asked (and I agreed) for us to meet so as to better understand the meaning and intent of the County Commission's policy concerning the sales tax referendum. Since you oppose this policy, I don't understand what legitimate reason you have to insist on being part of the meeting,"  Fuller said.  "In any case, since this is not an official meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, it is inappropriate for a single commissioner to request that the Clerk of the Board serve as a personal stenographer."

A note:  It's neither uncommon nor illegal for small groups of elected officials to meet to discuss business.  However,  if a meeting involves a quorum of the board,  it becomes subject to the N.C. Open Meetings Law,  which requires public notice and an opportunity for the public to attend.

Dunlap

George Dunlap,  a Democrat who was a school board member before he became a county commissioner,  emailed that some of his colleagues seem to have suddenly  "gotten religion"  in taking umbrage at such meetings.

"The meeting is not a secret if you know about it,"  Dunlap said in a reply to James.  "Every one of us has meetings or has had a meeting with folk the (sic) we want at the table,  and we didn't open it up to anyone else."

Morgan said his goal is to get information to report back to the full school board.  "This is the proper role of leadership of the boards to have this conversation,"  he said.

Tarte's raise announcement based on 'scuttlebutt'

An electronic update emailed by N.C. Sen. Jeff Tarte's office Monday contained startling news: "The Senate, House and Governor have all put forward plans to address teacher pay.  The conference committee negotiating differences in the plans has agreed upon 8% pay raises."

Reporters in Charlotte and Raleigh weren't the only ones caught by surprise.

Tarte

"That is news to me,"  said Sen. Tommy Tucker, R-Waxhaw.  Unlike Tarte,  a Cornelius Republican,  Tucker is a member of the conference committee trying to reconcile the Senate and House budgets.

Tucker

Tucker said lawmakers remain  "all over the board"  on teacher pay plans,  with average estimated raises ranging from 2 percent in the governor's plan to 11 percent in the Senate's.  He said there have been no developments since last week's agreement on Medicaid spending.

The Senate, House and governor's budgets all call for significant teacher raises,  though none proposes a flat percentage.  The conference committee is still working through plans to revamp the pay scale.  Major differences remain on how to award and pay for raises.

Senate leader Phil Berger's office said the same thing:  "We are not aware of any budget deal on teacher pay."

So what inspired Tarte,  a first-term senator who serves on the Senate education committee,  to announce an agreement?  "That's just the scuttlebutt in the hallways,"  he said,  adding that indications are that 5 percent to 8 percent will be  "the baseline to start from."  The raise item,  tucked in the middle of his legislative update,  "got everybody reading anyway," he said.

Meanwhile,  Garinger High School teacher James Ford,  who is North Carolina's teacher of the year,  plans a trip to Raleigh today to distribute a letter to lawmakers and the governor urging them to find a compromise on teacher raises.

Ford (CMS image)

He said he isn't taking a stand on which plan he prefers.  Instead,  Ford says he'll emphasize the common ground they already have:  "I'm glad they recognize the importance of attracting and retaining quality teachers.  It's something that has to be done.  There's so much in the balance."

Senate budget: Teacher cuts, raises and lottery

Superintendent Heath Morrison says the Senate budget would cost Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 77 teachers.  Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger says there are no teacher cuts, other than those based on declining enrollment.

So what's up?

Turns out the teachers in question were promised in the two-year budget approved last summer,  and would be taken away if the General Assembly approves the Senate's budget bill for 2014-15.  The 2013-15 plan would have added about 788 second- and third-grade teachers statewide.

The uncertainty about whether to count on those teachers makes it tough for CMS to plan,  says Chief Financial Officer Sheila Shirley,  but it doesn't mean existing teachers are being cut.

The  "give one year and take the next"  approach may be one reason many teachers are wary of the Senate's pay plan,  even though it promises hefty raises.

The professional track outlined in the budget bill  (starting on p. 39)  spells out a significantly higher pay scale for teachers who relinquish state longevity pay and tenure  --  and it says that the new scale  "shall apply for the 2014-15 fiscal year."  I've heard speculation that once teachers have given up tenure,  the General Assembly could go back to freezing pay rather than letting teachers advance as promised.

I've also heard from a veteran teacher who's savvy about civic affairs that the raises promised to long-time teachers won't be enough to offset the loss of longevity pay,  which can hit almost $3,500 a year for teachers at the top of the CMS scale.  But the budget says,  and Berger's office confirms,  that the bill allows teachers to claim their current salary plus longevity pay if that's higher than the amount on the new scale.  If that tops $50,000,  the cap on the new scale,  they'll also get a 1 percent bonus.

Teachers who opt to stay on the tenure track would keep their current salary and longevity pay.  In other words,  no cut but no raise.

Another perennial hot button in budget discussions is money from the N.C. Education Lottery.  I noticed that the Senate bill (p. 9)  includes a 2014-15 allocation of lottery money that's more than $37 million higher than what was projected in the two-year plan.  It also shifts some of that money from a financial aid reserve to classroom teachers,  bumping the teacher allocation from about $221 million to $277 million.

Big money, big issues, big crowd

The crowds that have been turning out for recent school board and county commissioners' meetings may be dwarfed by the group mobilizing for Wednesday's public hearing on the county budget. Correction: I had listed this as Tuesday; the hearing is actually Wednesday, June 11.

The Mecklenburg PTA Council is organizing a  "block party"  starting at 4 p.m. outside the Government Center,  getting people to start gathering two hours before the Mecklenburg County commissioners start taking comments on the budget.  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is seeking a $46.2 million increase in its county allotment for 2014-15,  including $26.7 million to pay for raises of at least 3 percent for the district's approximately 18,500 employees.

Line for CMS budget hearing

The crowd is almost certain to to overflow the capacity of the meeting chamber,  as they did for the school board's recent budget hearing.  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School Friends,  a group pushing for the raises and supporting the CMS budget,  has lined up space for the overflow crowd to watch the televised meeting at the nearby Blackfinn pub.

As I've noted before,  education advocacy groups are popping up all over this year.  But unlike some of the statewide groups created by anonymous donors,  Public School Friends is  the creation of local advocates who have long lobbied for CMS,  including Elyse Dashew, Marni Eisner and Sandra Conway.

The group plans to stage a  "virtual rally"  on social media starting at 6 a.m. Monday,  asking supporters to tweet, post and otherwise share photos that signal support for CMS.   "Will you pose with the crossing guard who gets your student safely across the street every morning?"  the Facebook page asks.  "The school nurse who deserves a Purple Heart for patience? The teacher who runs the carpool lane like clockwork, rain or shine?"

Superintendent Heath Morrison has been talking up the budget at every opportunity  (find CMS info here).  At the Tuesday Breakfast Forum he noted that some county commissioners have complained about the public show of support,  and urged the district's supporters not to be deterred.  "That's not the democratic way, that's not the American way and I don't think it's the Charlotte way," he said. "I'd rather have you contact your county commissioners saying, 'Don't fund the CMS budget' than have you be silent."

Senate plan: Big raises, big questions

For Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the Senate's sweeping plan to raise and revamp teacher pay has officials scrambling to sort out its implications.

At a news conference less than 24 hours after seeing the plan, Superintendent Heath Morrison was quick to say he's  "very grateful"  that the Senate has proposed raises that would make a real difference in North Carolina's national standing and teachers' ability to earn a living wage.  "We certainly support that increase at the state level being as high as possible,"  he said.

Morrison

But he noted that Gov. Pat McCrory's budget and the Senate's are substantially different,  with the House version yet to come.  Both plans revealed so far contain significant changes in pay and other conditions for teachers,  and Gov. Pat McCrory is already raising challenges about the Senate's plan for education.

That means huge unanswered questions as CMS and other districts prepare for a budget year that starts July 1 and a school year that starts Aug. 25.  Morrison said he worried about the tradeoffs in the Senate plan;  CMS stands to lose 900 teacher assistants,  77 teachers,  $3.8 million in transportation money and $200,000 for central offices,  he said.

Morrison,  an unaffiliated voter who tries to stay out of partisan crossfire,  said he's not opposed to rethinking tenure  (he prefers to call it due process),  but prefers that such a discussion would have happened more deliberately,  with educators involved.  The Senate plan came out late Wednesday and is expected to be approved by week's end.

Berger

But Senate leader Phil Berger told me Thursday afternoon that he and other GOP senators have been listening for three years,  since they took control of the General Assembly.  The biggest message from educators,  parents and policymakers,  he said,  is that teachers are the most important factor in children's education,  and North Carolina's low national ranking for teacher pay threatens public education.

"We've heard loud and clear the complaints that we're in the 40s,  and not even the high 40s,  on teacher pay,  and that has become an embarrassment for the state,"  he said.  He said the Senate plan would move North Carolina up to 27th  --  assuming every teacher chooses  to give up tenure and move onto the higher pay track with year-to-year contract.  "It is critical for North Carolina to move ahead and to do everything we can to improve outcomes in public education.  Teachers are at the center of that."

Berger said his party made tough choices to make a big raise possible,  including sacrificing teacher assistants.  But he said party leaders have also made concessions,  such as letting teachers keep tenure if that's what's most important to them.   (Not all teachers are grateful;  N.C. Association of Educators President Rodney Ellis said it amounted to treating teachers like  "political pawns in an election year,"  and suggested tenure provided the protection teachers needed to speak up about the problems with low pay.)

Berger said changes in the Read to Achieve Act also show that GOP leaders have been listening and learning.   He said the revisions approved Wednesday preserve the focus on getting third-graders up to grade level in reading while responding to legitimate concerns,  such as the previous lack of flexibility in setting up summer reading programs.  "We listened to those concerns,"  Berger said.

Grundy at General Assembly

It looks like a lively summer debate is just getting cranked up.  Pamela Grundy of Mecklenburg ACTS went to Raleigh to argue against the part of Read to Achieve that requires retention for struggling third-grade readers,  which she says does little to help them.  "Berger's response: not retaining students isn't working, so they have to try something else. The measure passed, but at least the truth made an appearance,"  Grundy posted on Facebook.

And state Superintendent June Atkinson,  a Democrat,  released a statement lauding a  "long overdue"  major raise for teachers,  but saying that the Senate's education budget  "continues to undercut support for teachers and for learning."

"The key to teacher recruitment and retention is pay plus working conditions,"  Atkinson said.  "Student success requires both."

Update:  A Winthrop professor just tweeted me a link to this blog post berating N.C. legislators for offering the "raises or tenure" tradeoff.  "Curmudgucation,"  by a self-described grumpy old teacher,  says the real message is that teachers can't make a career here and that North Carolina now has  "the worst legislature in all of America."

Technology, playgrounds on CMS 'opportunity' list

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools budget plan that district leaders and county officials will review today includes a $46.2 million increase in county spending.  But there's also a page detailing almost $69 million in additional  "one-time funding opportunities"  should the county find itself with money left over.

Superintendent Heath Morrison says County Manager Dena Diorio asked the district to list such projects,  which wouldn't be an ongoing annual expense,  for consideration based on the county fund balance.  The list  (on p. 72 of the budget book) includes:

$1 million would get playground upgrades

*$28.9 million in environmental upgrades,  most of that to be spent improving indoor air quality at schools  --  work such as increasing fresh air flow or cleaning ducts.

*$22.8 million for technology,  most of it for  "devices/cases and charging trays"  for  middle school students.

*$9.8 million for  "general deferred maintenance."

*$3.5 million for bus video cameras and vehicle replacement.

*$2.6 million for roof replacements.

*$1 million for playground upgrades.

County commissioners will hear from CMS and CPCC officials at a special budget meeting at 3 p.m. Monday,  May 19.  It's in Room 267 of the Government Center and it's open to the public.  But Commissioner Bill James wants to discourage the massive turnout and testimonials that have marked meetings to discuss teacher raises --  and a recent commissioners' meeting that wasn't about the budget.

James

"Given the disturbance at the last County Commission meeting it might be a good idea to outline to the public and CMS that this is NOT a public hearing,"  James emailed Diorio and other county officials last week.  "The meeting is for the Boards to talk to each other, not listen to prepared speeches from students, presentations from MeckEd or other groups (PTA or teachers)."

I'm guessing the mid-afternoon timing will discourage a crowd.  But based on the email and social media traffic I've seen already,  we can count on another big mobilization for the county's June 11 public budget hearing.

Teacher pay gets hot-potato toss

I didn't make it to Raleigh for the final meeting of the General Assembly's teacher compensation task force,  but the report is online and it's pretty much as predicted:  This panel is tossing the topic back to legislators and asking them to tap the state Board of Education for another round of study.

The recommendations are broad and fairly obvious:  Focus on a pay system that benefits students,  raise pay for newer teachers as a short-term goal  (a tactic already proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory and GOP leaders) and make across-the-board hikes and  "modernization"  a long-term goal.  Just how long isn't clear,  but a draft proposal suggests giving the state board another year to study teacher compensation,  with a goal of putting something in place in 2016-17.

The report indicates that the task force was intrigued by career-ladder approaches such as that being piloted with Charlotte-Mecklenburg's  "opportunity culture"  program,  and by the IMPACT teacher evaluation model in use in District of Columbia Public Schools.

"There are no examples of state-centered comprehensive compensation models that have positively impacted student achievement and have been sustained,"  the report notes.  "Reform models that emphasizes (sic) local flexibility within evidence-based parameters may be a more promising and sustainable strategy."

The lack of specifics on how to raise salaries and modernize the pay plan drew fire from some of the educators and legislators who served,  the AP's Gary Robertson reports.  "We've heard a lot of presentations and propaganda but there really hasn't been a whole lot of meaningful discussion going forward,"  said Timothy Barnsback, president of the Professional Educators of North Carolina.

Kidd

Judy Kidd, president of the Classroom Teachers Association,  said the task force was  "playing kick the can."

Cotham

"The report could have been written in January, frankly," said Kidd, a CMS high school teacher. She said it may have been naive to think a real plan could be drafted after four meetings, but she said lack of information isn't the real challenge.  "They know what they need to do. They know they need to do it."

State Rep. Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg,  posted a critical synopsis on her Facebook page:  "I called the committee report 'fluff' and argued that many teachers are hurting NOW. Teachers across NC are trying to make ends meet as we speak. I challenged my colleagues to 'put their money where their mouth is' and send the message that we as a state value our teachers, our children, and education."

CMS raises and charter costs: A math challenge

School board members delved into math questions about employee raises and charter school costs at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' first budget work session Tuesday.

Tuesday's presentation  (CMS plans to post it on the budget page today)  included a preliminary suggestion of $17 million to $18 million in county money to provide raises for all employees.  A board member asked what size raise that would cover.

Image: Cambridgecoaching.com

Superintendent Heath Morrison and Chief Financial Office Sheila Shirley said it's too early to say.  Most CMS employees are paid by the state, but others are paid with county,  federal or grant money.  When the state gives an across-the-board raise,  CMS traditionally uses county money to make sure all employees get that raise.  So if state lawmakers were to approve a 2 percent raise,  CMS would need $4 million to $5 million in county money to match it,  they said.

On the other hand,  if the state provides nothing,  CMS would spend about $18 million to give employees a 2 percent raise with county money alone,  according to the presentation.  Plus,  Morrison noted that the plan to boost starting teachers' pay proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory and legislative leaders may bring yet-unknown county costs.

In that case, a vague answer was the right one.  But when it came to the cost of sending students to charter schools vs. CMS, a teacher should have stepped in.

The presentation projected 2,296 additional charter students next year,  with CMS passing along $7.5 million in county money.  It also said CMS would need $400,000 from the county for an additional 754 CMS students.

New board member Paul Bailey asked whether such disproportionate numbers could possibly be right.  It was a good question.  The charter allotment breaks down to about $3,267 per student, while the CMS total is $530.50 per pupil.

Morrison and Shirley said the costs aren't directly comparable. They explained the system that requires CMS to pass along a per-pupil share of the county allotment for each Mecklenburg student who attends one of the independently-run public schools.

Davis

When Eric Davis got his turn,  he looped back to those numbers,  saying how much more cost-effective it is to send students to CMS than to create new schools for them.  Describing himself as a former Republican,  the unaffiliated Davis said he would be aghast at spending so much to finance new charters when the state is  "starving"  traditional public schools.

It was a dramatic speech based on a false premise.  The per-pupil pass-along to charters has nothing to do with the cost of operating those schools,  as Davis most likely knows.  In fact,  that cost is precisely and by definition the same as the average cost for CMS students, new and existing.  That's how it works:  However big the county  "pie"  for education is,  each student gets a proportionate slice.  The only thing that drives up the size of a charter student's  slice is county commissioners' generosity in responding to the CMS request.

I'm not sure exactly what's included in the $400,000 estimate for the addition of 754 CMS students,  but it's clearly not the full county cost for their education.

Many of us would love to know which schools deliver the best academic value for the dollar.  But looking at those two lines in the CMS presentation won't give us the answer.

Education advocates get ready for Raleigh in 2014

The 2014 legislative session may be six months away,  but it's very much alive in the minds of people who care about education in North Carolina.

If you missed it during the holidays,  be sure to read John Frank's piece on the prospects for a teacher pay raise.  Frank reports that Republican legislative leaders say it's needed but don't agree on how to go about it.

Meanwhile,  the League of Women Voters of Charlotte-Mecklenburg will hold a forum this Saturday on how the state budget affects education close to home.  Titled  "What happens in Raleigh matters in Mecklenburg,"  the session is from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Dec. 7 at the YWCA, 3420 Park Road.

Mitchell

Speakers include Ann Clark,  deputy superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools;  John Dornan,  former director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina;  and Tazra Mitchell, a budget and tax policy analyst for the N.C. Justice Center.

For details or to RSVP, contact Mary Klenz, maryklenz@gmail.com or 704-542-9858.