RFP Staff
♦Videos featuring discussions during Representative Harry Warren’s June 21 Town Hall in Salisbury, NC:
Will teachers with higher education be paid less in North Carolina beginning next year?
Check the wording in SB 402 as it currently is written by clicking here, and the answer is yes — unless legislators have the wisdom to change the reduction in pay before the end of the conference committee review. The question regarding lower pay for teachers with higher education makes reference to the following lines in the current version of Senate Bill 402, for state budget appropriations, lines 42-49, page 56 of SB 402 (5th ed.):
42 PHASE OUT CERTAIN TEACHER SALARY SUPPLEMENTS
43 SECTION 8.22. Notwithstanding Section 35.11 of this act, no teachers or
44 instructional support personnel, except for certified school nurses and instructional support
45 personnel in positions for which a master’s degree is required for licensure, shall be paid on the
46 “M” salary schedule or receive a salary supplement for academic preparation at the six-year
47 degree level or at the doctoral degree level for the 2014-2015 school year, unless they were
48 paid on that salary schedule or received that salary supplement prior to the 2014-2015 school
49 year. (Retrieved from http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/Senate/PDF/S402v5.pdf)
It has been suggested that the rationale for this line in the budget is that over the last 70 years, few evidences have been produced to prove that higher education creates more qualified teachers. However, it does not appear that North Carolina has come to a consensus on that issue yet.
Representative Warren states his views on how education reform currently works and could it could be done:
