Let's talk about teacher pay

Education looks like the hot topic for this year's legislative session,  with a special urgency about teacher pay and treatment.  The Observer and PNC Bank are hosting a  "Solving It Together"  forum on May 5,  the week before the session starts,  to talk about teacher compensation.

Cameron

Panelists are Eric Guckian,  the governor's senior education adviser;  CMS Superintendent Heath Morrison;  state representatives Rob Bryan (GOP) and Tricia Cotham (Dem); and Erlene Lyde of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators.  WBTV anchor Paul Cameron will pose questions suggested by the audience and press for answers that go beyond sound bites.

Meanwhile,  I'm working on a package that will try to move the discussion past wheel-spinning and broad generalities to get some discussion going about real options,  what they might cost and where we can find the money.

The forum is from 7-9 p.m. at CPCC's Pease Auditorium.  Click here to register and suggest questions.  I'll be there covering the discussion,  so I hope to see some of you there.

In a separate event,  the N.C. Association of Educators and the Tar Heel Alliance of Classroom Teachers are sponsoring a showing of the documentary  "American Teacher"  at 7 p.m. Thursday,  April 24,  at the CMAE office at 301 S McDowell St., Suite 1200.  The film,  narrated by Matt Damon and sponsored by the Teacher Salary Project,  is part of a national effort to increase teacher pay and respect  (read the list of supporters here).

In North Carolina,  the showing is part of a  "Moral Movies"  series that will run in Charlotte and other cities over the next four months.  The state NAACP and the Wilmington-based Working Films are co-sponsoring the series.

What if NC leaders used teacher pay scale?

Apparently it takes a lot more money to hire advisers for our leaders in Raleigh than to recruit teachers for the children of North Carolina.

My eyes were drawn to an AP story in the morning's Observer about two 24-year-olds who worked in Pat McCrory's campaign for governor and are now making salaries of $85,000 or more in advisory posts with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

McCrory

I had just finished talking with a 25-year-old Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher who's bright and energetic enough to help Deputy Superintendent Ann Clark with some of her research.  He's making about $37,400 a year  --  but only because CMS provides a supplement with county money.  The state scale would put him at $30,800.

The state's teacher pay scale starts at $30,800 and tops out at about $65,520,  for a teacher with a master's degree, National Board certification and at least 35 years of experience.  That made me curious:  How do advisers to the people who approve that scale compare?

The state government salary database lists 60 employees of the governor's office.  On a quick scan,  I counted 22 making more than any teacher can.  Eric Guckian,  a member of the Charlotte education scene who was recently hired as McCrory's education adviser,  came in at $120,000.  Three of the six administrative assistants earn more than $50,000,  a level teachers crack at 32 years on the bachelor's degree scale.

Only one member of the governor's staff makes less than a starting teacher.  Gregory Anthony Steele is listed as press secretary at $28,000.  He's listed as a 21-year-old hired in June,  which makes me suspect it's a summer job.

What about the legislative staff?  I came up dry.  Turns out the General Assembly has its own payroll system,  which we don't have online.

I've sent a request to our data guy.  I think people might want to know.

Charlotte's Guckian has governor's ear

Eric Guckian, who has spent almost five years in charge of Charlotte's New Leaders principal recruitment program, has taken on an even more challenging task.  He's Gov. Pat McCrory's new senior education adviser,  at a time when game-changing education proposals are flying around Raleigh like Frisbees at a beach party.

Guckian (goo-CAN) got the job in May,  while I was on vacation.  He had met McCrory during his stint as Charlotte mayor,  but Guckian said the connection was made by John Lassiter,  a key member of the McCrory team and a board member of New Leaders.

"I'm a plumber's kid,"  Guckian said.  "When the governor calls, that's not a call you get every day."

When I finally caught up with Guckian late last week,  he wasn't ready to stake out positions on some of the more controversial issues in play,  such as vouchers for private school tuition and revising teacher pay.  So far he's talking about broad themes such as efficiency,  innovation,  workforce development and accountability. "We're still crafting an overall education agenda,"  he said.

McCrory doesn't have children.  But between Guickian and Lassiter,  a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools parent and school board member,  he'll surely get a deep knowledge of local issues. 

"If you want to know what I care about,  it's our highest-need kids in North Carolina,"  Guckian said.  That passion and knowledge comes not just from his work with New Leaders  (formerly New Leaders for New Schools)  and Teach For America,  but from his time as a Shamrock Gardens Elementary School parent.  Shamrock,  a high-poverty school in east Charlotte,  has spent years working to improve its academic performance and win the confidence of middle-class families who had avoided the school.

"You don't just flip a switch with this stuff,"  he said.  "It is really hard work."

Guckian will work with the newly revived Education Cabinet,  made up of officials who oversee prekindergarten programs, K-12 education, community colleges and the university system.  One of the governor's goals is building stronger connections between all the levels of education that get young people ready for successful adult lives,  he said.

New Leaders will celebrate Guckian's work at a reception next week.  They'll also have a retirement  send-off for Steve Hall,  a former CMS principal who led the aspiring principals program.