Cumberland will lose 70 teachers under new budget

FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- The recently- approved North Carolina state budget mandates money earmarked for teacher assistants be used only for that.

That's a problem for Cumberland County which uses some of the money to pay regular teachers. District leaders say they'll now be forced to cut 70 teacher positions.

"Overall, this budget did not help promote public education in North Carolina," offered NCAE representative and teacher Tamika Kelly.

She says she worries the budget statewide will drive more teachers out of the classroom.

"If you don't pay veteran teachers they are the first to leave the profession. Then, there is nobody to mentor beginning teachers," she said.

The good news is the cuts won't mean immediate layoffs. The school board will be forced to dip into reserve funds to pay the teachers this year.

"What we are going to be doing is looking at where we are under-enrolled and there are vacancies and moving those vacancies to other schools with higher enrollments," said Ruben Reyes with Cumberland County Schools.

But other school systems may not have that option. Cumberland County School Superintendent Dr. Frank Till warns that budget shortfalls will in the end hurt students the most.

"You start cutting and demoralizing teachers. We have substitutes that will be with us all year long. It's an impact on children. People need to look at these things. They are beginning to hurt children," he said.