Here's where lottery money is going this year

Teacher assistants positions appear to be rescued by money from the North Carolina lottery this year.

Remember, TA jobs were the big sticking point between the N.C. House and Senate budget proposals. The House wanted smaller raises and no teacher assistant cuts. The Senate wanted bigger raises and a sizable TA cut. The compromise came with a mid-size raise and no TA cuts.

That's possible because of an infusion of $113 million from lottery funds, according to the official budget document (page 8). It appears to be the first time that lottery money has been used to fund TA positions.

The legislature took some money from UNC financial aid and digital learning to make it happen.

Here's the full breakdown:

Classroom Teachers: $254,586,185 (up $34 million)
Teacher Assistants $113,318,880 (all new money)
Prekindergarten Program: $75,535,709 (unchanged)
Public School Building Capital Fund: $100,000,000 (unchanged)
Scholarships for Needy Students: $30,450,000 (unchanged)
UNC Need-Based Financial Aid: 10,744,733 (unchanged)
UNC Need-Based Financial Aid Forward Funding Reserve:  $0 (down $19 million)
Digital Learning: $0 (down $12 million)

Here's a chart of where lottery money has gone historically, from the state's official website:

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.

What about the lottery money?

As school budget talks crank up, so does a chorus of questions about where the money from the N.C. Education Lottery goes.

N.C. Department of Public Instruction has posted a brief explainer here.

For county-by-county breakdowns, go to the Lottery Commission's site (click Beneficiary Brochures for details).
-- ADH