At least 28 school districts across the state have voiced opposition to a new law that repeals teacher tenure and replaces it with a plan that rewards the top teachers, according the North Carolina Association of Educators.
Cumberland County Schools and Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools are among the latest to reject the law, which is meant to phase out tenure for all teachers by 2018.
鈥淚 think you鈥檙e going to see a domino effect and [school districts] are going to just start pouring in,鈥� says Rodney Ellis, president of NCAE. 鈥淪ome school districts already have quietly registered their opposition.鈥�
The measure requires school districts to select 25 percent of qualified teachers to receive four-year contracts and $500 annual raises. In exchange, those teachers must voluntarily give up their tenure rights.
Teacher tenure, otherwise known as career status, provides teacher a right to due process or a hearing if dismissed or demoted.
'Harmful and Divisive'
The Guilford and Durham county school boards voted to sue to stop the tenure plan, while the Wake school board.
鈥淧art of the reason we鈥檙e opposed to it is because it鈥檚 so open to interpretation. It seems to encourage competition between public school teachers,鈥� said Larry Niles, Wake NCAE president, on .
Alan Duncan, chair of the Guilford鈥檚 school board, helped write a resolution rejecting the law.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very harmful, it鈥檚 demoralizing and it鈥檚 divisive,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hose are words that consistently have been brought out with our communications with teachers.鈥�
Teachers and superintendents argue that school districts have not been given clear guidelines on how to pick the top 25 percent of teachers and that the process feels arbitrary.
Governor Pat McCrory, saying that the law is 鈥渁n example of passing a policy without clearly understanding the execution and operation.鈥�
McCrory and many lawmakers admit that the teacher pay system needs serious revamping 鈥� a new legislative task force is currently looking into the issue and will provide recommendations to the General Assembly. The governor also recently pledged to raise the base salary for teachers early in their careers to $35,000, the first step in a much more comprehensive plan, according to McCrory.
On Wednesday March 12, 2014, 瓜神app's Frank Stasio spoke with Eric Guckian, senior education advisor to Governor McCrory, and Larry Nilles, an eighth grade social studies teacher and president of Wake North Carolina Association of Educators:
http://cpa.ds.npr.org/wunc/audio/2014/03/sot031214segB.mp3
