A Move Toward Merit Pay in North Carolina?
Plus, those minimum salaries are, well, pretty minimum
North Carolina Policy Watch reports on a move in that state toward merit pay for teachers.
Here’s a graphic explaining the somewhat complex proposal:
Here’s more on the story:
A new compensation and licensure proposal that rewards “competency and skill” has some state teachers worried that “classroom experience would no longer be valued in North Carolina,” State Board of Education member Jill Camnitz said Wednesday.
The proposal establishes a pay range largely based on teacher effectiveness and responsibilities. An apprentice teacher, for example, would earn $30,000 annually; beginning teachers with degrees from one of the 55 state-approved Educator Preparation Programs would earn $45,000. That’s about $10,000 more than first-year teachers are currently paid.
Many beginning teachers arrive at K-12 schools after graduating from one of the Education Preparation Programs, Superintendent Catherine Truitt noted. “This is where they would start, which means their starting salary, if we have our way, will be higher than it is right now,” Truitt said.
Advanced teachers with “adult leadership” responsibilities, such as mentoring early career teachers, could earn up to $72,000. At present, the state salary scale for teachers maxes out at $52,680 per year.
So, these numbers are higher than current teachers in NC earn. But, wow, they are LOW. An advanced teacher with extra responsibilities earns a max of $72,000 under the NEW system. No wonder people aren’t excited about becoming teachers.
Here’s how one veteran educator (Justin Parmenter of Charlotte) describes the system’s flaws:
It would increase ‘teaching to the test’ by offering a handful of larger salaries to those educators whose students do well on tests. Competition over a limited number of larger salaries would lead to teachers working in silos rather than collaborating and sharing best practices as cohesive teams. Teachers of subjects with no standardized tests are raising concerns that observations and student surveys are highly subjective and basing salaries on them would be unfair.”
If North Carolina leaders were talking about starting pay in the 60k range and max pay above 100k, this proposal might be considered innovative or exciting. As it stands, it’s just plain disappointing.
What’s Missing in Tennessee’s New School Funding Formula
As Gov. Bill Lee’s new school funding formula is quickly advancing, it’s important to note that it didn’t have to be this way - legislators had options and chose to ignore them.
Here’s more on what could have been (and could be in a state that actually prioritized education):
We’ve got $3 billion in extra cash just lying around!
Well, and we’ve got even more. The Department of Finance and Administration reports the state is more than $2 billion OVER estimated revenue collections this year so far!
Year-to-date revenues for six months were $2.15 billion more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund recorded $2.02 billion in revenues more than estimates, and the four other funds totaled $126.7 million more than year-to-date estimates.
So, here’s what a student-achievement focused budget would look like:
$1 billion to close the gap in needed teachers – that’s $1 billion from the state allocated to local districts to fund the teachers local dollars are already providing.
$1 billion to raise teacher pay by 15% or more for ALL teachers – This assumes the state covers the cost of the increase for the newly state-funded teachers (7000-9000) plus all teachers currently covered.
Guess what? We can do that with billions of dollars left over.
Guess what else? Implementing a plan like this can be done by making adjustments to the current BEP formula.
And you know what else? This can be done without raising local taxes one cent. No state tax increase, no local tax increase, more teachers covered with state dollars, and better pay for all teachers. That’s an evidence-based, affordable solution to the problem Lee says he’s trying to address.