North Carolina and a Shady Plot to Push Merit Pay
North Carolina and a Shady Plot to Push Merit Pay
I previously wrote about an effort underway in North Carolina to completely revamp teacher pay that would essentially create a “merit pay” system in the state - despite objections from educators and public education advocates.
Now, North Carolina teacher and blogger Justin Parmenter has exposed some shady tactics used to advance the merit pay plan.
Parmenter notes:
A Southern Regional Education Board email obtained this week shows that when public information requests for documents related to the NC Human Capital Roundtable were filed this past spring, the Atlanta-based nonprofit immediately asked Roundtable members–including at least four North Carolina state employees–to switch to Gmail “in order to make sure the private meeting notes are kept private.”
This is, of course, a direct attempt to skirt open records laws.
Parmenter points out, though, that it wouldn’t actually work:
It’s important to understand that North Carolina’s public records law covers the transaction of public business on any platform, not just state email. If a state employee uses private email, WhatsApp, text message, Facebook message, etc. to conduct official business, all of those communications would still be subject to public information requests. So SREB’s suggestion of a switch to Gmail reflects a lack of understanding of how North Carolina law regarding public records works.
Who is SREB? Parmenter explains:
If you’re not familiar with the Southern Regional Education Board, SREB is a nonprofit based in Georgia which operates in 16 southern states, making recommendations on education policy. Although SREB’s work on the Human Capital Roundtable’s merit pay scheme was funded by the Gates Foundation, the nonprofit is getting nearly a quarter of a million dollars from North Carolina taxpayers this year for granting SREB membership to the UNC system.
About the Plan
Here’s how North Carolina Policy Watch describes the proposed pay plan:
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, the state is working in secret to move teachers to a “teaching to the test” merit pay plan that is not supported by actual educators. They’re collaborating with a Gates-funded group that is encouraging them to hide the ball.
Fortunately, Parmenter wouldn’t stop digging - and now, educators (and all taxpayers) can see how this scheme developed.
As he says:
I am convinced those three plus years of Human Capital Roundtable records contain information that powerful individuals do not ever want to see the light of day. I’m convinced that it’s a gross miscarriage of justice to try to hide these documents from the North Carolina public. And I am going to keep pursuing the transparency that all of us deserve.
If the three years of work done to completely revamp teacher compensation in North Carolina is the best thing since sliced bread, then why are they trying to hide it?
Thanks, Andy. Teachers (real ones) don't need 'merit pay' decided by business majors (or duped by them).
I worked at a school (for a year) where teachers were taught to 'compete'. It wasn't such a nice place, and the effect on the kids was anything but positive. Add to that the irrelevant 'metrics', and you get a cesspool. No thanks! And they wonder why there is a scarcity of teachers.
Now, money might help, but being allowed to teach using your expertise and experience is far more valuable.