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."

Report on buses and bells coming

A report on CMS busing options and bell schedules by a visiting team from the Council of the Great City Schools should be ready for release in September,  says Earnest Winston, chief of staff for Superintendent Heath Morrison.

Winston

The battle of the bells has been brewing since 2011, when then-Superintendent Peter Gorman created new "late bell" schedules and added 45 minutes to the elementary school day to save money on busing. As soon as Morrison was hired last summer, he started hearing concerns from parents and teachers. Based on reactions to the council visit a couple of weeks ago, it seems unlikely that the outside experts' report will end the conflict.

The goal is for the council team to combine their expertise in transportation and their knowledge of how other districts handle busing schedules with info provided by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and local interviews.  They'll assess alternatives that have been crafted by CMS staff, parents and teachers to see whether any are financially feasible and practically desirable. CMS is spending  "up to $18,000"  on the study, Winston said.

Plaza (L) and Thorsland (R)

But Susan Plaza and Sharon Thorsland,  twin sisters and CMS parents who have been among the leaders of the bell schedule group,  say their experience left them skeptical.  They asked Judy Kidd, a high school teacher who's president of the Classroom Teachers Association,  to join them in their meeting with the visiting team.  Plaza said Kidd has helped her group poll teachers about the impact of the schedules and they wanted her to help present the case.

Plaza and Kidd say Winston denied Kidd the chance to take part in the discussion with Plaza, Thorsland and other parents,  and wouldn't let her join a later session with teachers. Both said afterward they question the sincerity of the district's effort and don't think enough teachers who oppose the late bell schedule and the longer elementary day were interviewed.

"We just kind of feel like it was all done for show,"  Plaza said this week.

"I think it's going to be status quo,"  Kidd said.

Winston,  replying to an email from Plaza,  said he had set aside 90 minutes for the council team to talk with Plaza,  Thorsland and other volunteers who had spent months working with CMS staff to explore options.  Kidd wasn't part of that work,  he said,  noting that the group actually got two hours to make their case.  Winston said a number of teachers met with the council team,  not all of them supporters of the late schedule.   "In fact,"  he wrote,  "feedback compiled by (the Superintendent's Teacher Advisory Council)  highlighting an array of teacher concerns about the late-bell schedule was shared with the CGCS." Update: Winston says Kidd showed up part way through the session with Plaza and other parents and was allowed to stay for that, but was not allowed to attend the teacher session.

And so,  the debate seems likely to go on,  even after the Council of the Great City Schools weighs in.