NCAE Says Proposed Budget Serves as Small Down Payment on State’s IOU to Public Ed RALEIGH, NC – After several weeks of playing political Tug-of-War, the General Assembly is preparing to release a budget that still does not make public education in North Carolina whole. The devil is still in the details on how things will pan out, based on rumblings that have been floating around via news reports and social media. “The proposed budget is a plan that continues to disrespect North Carolina’s teachers and public school employees,” said NCAE Vice President Mark Jewell. “The promise to make educators whole is still an unfulfilled one and there is no clear sustainable revenue source being revealed as to how this budget will be funded, given last year’s budget gave tax cuts to the wealthy and for-profit corporations.” A major budget contention between the House and Senate has been teacher salaries. As it stands, lawmakers are proposing an average 7 percent increase. But when it comes down to brass tacks, the raise will not amount to 7 percent because longevity is being included as part of the increase, a benefit that educators already receive. “This proposed increase is just a down payment on the state’s IOU to public education,” Jewell added. “There is no comprehensive plan, or commitment, to our teachers to push salaries to the national average.” According to the 2014 NEA Rankings and Estimates of the States, North Carolina has ranked 46th in the national for average teacher salaries for the past three years, and we rank 11th in the Southeast. Other major issues with this budget include shifting the burden to districts to make decisions on funding and position changes, inequity in raises between education support professionals and state employees, and diverting more public tax dollars into the voucher program without incorporating any accountability measures. NCAE is the state’s largest education organization, representing active, retired and student members.”
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 21:34:05 +0000