NCAE: Veteran teachers get no raise under McCrory plan
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) said Thursday it's worked out that nearly 1,500 veteran teachers and instructional personnel would get no pay raise under Governor Pat McCrory's recent proposal for raising teacher pay.
It also said many long-time principals and assistant principals would also get nothing.
The NCAE said the effected educators have 37 years - or more - invested in their careers.
"We think Governor McCrory owes the people of North Carolina an explanation," said NCAE President Rodney Ellis in a news release. "In materials released by his office, he gave the clear understanding that all educators would get something -- younger teachers getting more, and the percentage varied with the experience of teachers farther up the ladder."
Ellis said because the teacher pay scale tops out at 37 years, those educators cannot move up a step as less experienced teachers do every year. In the past when teacher pay was increased, the teachers with service beyond 37 years got one-time bonuses equal to the average increase given to the top steps, which is 2 percent under the governor's proposal.
"This is a slap in the face to those educators who have given most of their lives to the children of this state. For them to get absolutely nothing -- not even the $1,000 bonus given to the highest-paid state employees -- is a very plain signal that Governor McCrory puts the most experienced teachers at the bottom of his priority list," said Ellis.
The governor's office responded by saying nearly 99-percent of teachers are receiving an average increase of more than 3-percent.
Eric Guckian, Governor McCrory's Senior Advisor on Education, said the most experienced teachers would have an excellent opportunity to earn more under the plan- the Career Pathways for Teachers- the governor announced a few short weeks ago.
North Carolina currently ranks near the bottom nationally in teacher pay. Many districts have complained that they're losing staff to other states that pay more.
At a news conference earlier this month at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, McCrory announced a follow up to an announcement he made in February that he would work to increase the base pay for North Carolina teachers to $35,000. In his proposal, he called for teachers to get raises ranging from 2 percent up to 4.3 percent.
