Every October for the past decade or so, Garner High School teacher James Brantley has taken a day off from the classroom to spend with his wife to celebrate her birthday.

So far, this loving gesture has cost him more than $500.

That's because North Carolina requires teachers who request time off while school is in session to fork out $50 to help cover the cost of a substitute -- the only state in the Southeast to do so, a state teachers association official says.

Brantley willingly pays -- his wife is worth it, he says -- but he and other teachers say the policy needs to be changed.

"It's sort of a disappointment that we have to pay it," said Brantley, a math teacher.

The practice could be a turnoff for newly minted teachers and might hurt efforts to recruit new prospects to the profession, said Kelly O'Hara, a seventh-grade teacher at Holly Ridge Middle School.

"I don't like the practice, and I want to be treated like a professional," she said. "Most professionals don't have to pay for a day off."

Over the years, the policy has mostly gone unchallenged, overshadowed by more pressing issues such as salaries and testing requirements. But teachers are starting to lobby for relief.

The N.C. Association of Educators included the issue in its 2007-2008 legislative agenda. Jennifer Lanane, a veteran teacher and president of the association's Wake chapter, has also sought support for a repeal from the Wake school board. During a school board meeting in March, Lanane said North Carolina is the only state in the Southeast to still charge a "substitute deduction."

"I don't know why they're still hanging on to this," Lanane said. "Something needs to be done that says 'We respect teachers, and we respect the position of teachers.' "

A bill was also introduced in the House to repeal the $50 deduction from a teacher's pay. The measure hasn't been scheduled for a committee hearing or vote yet.

"There shouldn't be any reason they have to pay $50 to take care of a personal matter," said Rep. Ty Harrell, a Raleigh Democrat who supports the bill.

The Wake County Board of Education is expected to discuss whether it can cover the cost of repealing the "substitute deduction" at a committee hearing Tuesday. If the deduction were eliminated, it could cost about $800,000 a year to cover two personal leave days for all of the roughly 8,000 teachers in Wake's public school system, said David Neter, the system's chief business officer.

Repealing the deduction would help the board recruit new teachers to a school system stretched by rapid growth, Lanane said.

"Wake does a wonderful job giving teachers what they need to do their jobs, but this would be one more recruiting tool," she said.

Sick leave doesn't cost

Under present state policy, teachers earn two days each year for personal leave, which is often used for weddings, graduations or the birthday of a spouse. They also earn sick leave and vacation days, but the latter can't be used while school is in session. Teachers don't have to pay for substitutes if they're out sick. But they do have to pay the "substitute deduction" when they take personal leave days.

That policy has been on the books since the early 1960s, first established under rules for sick leave, said Harry Wilson, attorney for the state board of education. Back then, teachers could take a personal day but had to pay $15 for a substitute. As the cost of substitutes increased, so did the teacher contribution.

But that deduction covers only part of the cost of hiring a substitute, which can range from $65 to $132 a day, depending on the replacement's qualifications.

Wilson said personal leave days were created as a way to give teachers time away from school while school was in session. Prior to personal leave days, teachers had to be sick to miss a school day.

Wilson said personal leave days were put into a separate category in 1984. And in the late 1990s, personal leave days were made into law.

In 2006, 77,252 personal leave days were taken by teachers across the state, and it cost about $6 million to pay for the substitutes. Teachers contributed about $3.8 million of that cost.

This rankles Millbrook Elementary School Assistant Principal Paula Trantham, who taught for nine years.

"Teachers aren't different than any other profession," she said. "And $50 is a lot for teachers."

Wake school board member Eleanor Goettee said the $50 payment for a substitute teacher is a morale-buster and encourages teachers to claim sick days for personal errands.

"It's unprofessional and demoralizing," said Goettee, a teaching veteran who spent 30 years in the classroom. "And, in essence, teachers will use sick days rather than be up front."