Bonus cuts surprised most teachers

Educators don't want any repeats

RALEIGH -- When teachers across North Carolina saw their annual performance bonus cut this year, most didn't know it was coming. Even lobbyists and advocates close to the political negotiations didn't anticipate the reduction.

They don't want it to happen again.

Only weeks into the school year and months away from the next legislative session, teachers statewide have called and e-mailed state lawmakers and contacted the state's largest teachers group, the N.C. Association of Educators.

Hundreds have called Democratic Sen. Steve Goss, a former teacher, persuading him to work on legislation to restore the 30 percent cut taken from 2007-08 bonuses.

"The state will be making a powerful statement if, even in challenging economic times, we pay the bonuses as was promised," said Goss, D-Watauga, adding that he plans to sponsor legislation when the General Assembly reconvenes in January -- provided he's re-elected.

The state has granted bonuses for 11 years at the maximum amount allocated by law, the dollar amount based on schools' growth and performance on standardized tests. The incentive money awarded for 2007-08 should appear in checks this month for eligible school staff.

Will it hurt hiring?

Goss said the wording of the law outlining the program is unclear, and he wants it changed so teachers receive the amount they were told to expect. He fears there could be long-term issues with retaining and hiring new teachers if the bonuses aren't paid.

But at least one policy analyst said the problem goes deeper than funding.

The testing program needs an overhaul, said Terry Stoops, an education analyst with the John Locke Foundation, a conservative-leaning Raleigh think tank. He said there is no consistent formula for how much bonus money must be set aside by lawmakers in the annual budget.

"If bonuses are going to be a regular part of [the] pay system, have it be a recurring expense at a set amount that grows with inflation," Stoops said.

Most teachers learned about the cuts in August -- a month after Gov. Mike Easley signed the state budget.

Lawmakers negotiating the budget said their hands were tied by the sagging economy, so Easley signed a budget bill that cut by more than half of the 7 percent pay raise he sought for teachers and didn't include full funding for the program, dubbed the ABCs of Public Education.

The budget allowed state educators to spend up to $94.3 million for the program, less than the $107 million sought by the State Board of Education to fully fund the bonuses.

Rep. Jim Crawford, D-Granville, co-chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said negotiators had to make difficult choices in an uncertain economy. But teachers still received the largest base pay raises in the Southeast this year, he said.

The bonus isn't an entitlement, Crawford added.

"We could have given them less of a raise and more of a bonus," said Crawford, but he said negotiators thought teachers would prefer a higher permanent salary that would help bolster their pensions. Crawford said he agrees there are problems with the bonus that need addressing.

"We've just got some problems with the whole system," he said.

Cut by about a third

For the 2007-08 school year, staff received $1,053 if their school's students showed high growth, not the $1,500 they expected. Staff at schools that met expectations got $527 this year instead of $750. Growth is calculated based on student's test performance and improvements from the previous year.

Teachers in about 82 percent of North Carolina schools qualified this year for the bonus, including Central Middle School in Whiteville, which the state had threatened to take over.