NC will use COVID dollars to save school principals from deep pay cuts this year
The State Board of Education approved Thursday a plan to use $4.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars to help protect hundreds of principals from deep pay cuts this year.
About 15% of North Carolina’s principals face losing between $7,200 and $18,000 due to a change in how state lawmakers are calculating compensation. The State Board voted to provide a “principal retention supplement” to cover any pay reductions those 360 principals will face.
“We didn’t want them to spend the first half of the school year wondering if they’ll face a $12,000 pay cut or even more,” said State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, who had proposed using the COVID dollars.
Principals around the state had been lobbying for a “hold harmless” provision to keep their pay from dropping.
Pandemic impact on pay
Since 2017, the state has paid principals based on how many students are at their school and whether their school’s test scores met or exceeded growth expectations on state exams. That replaced a system in which principals were paid based mainly on their years of educational experience and whether they had advanced degrees.
The new state budget changed how salaries for principals are determined to now use just one year of student test data instead of looking at three years of performance. The change goes into effect Jan. 1.
Supporters say the change will help new principals get additional pay quicker instead of waiting several years to be eligible. But Truitt said the change would negatively impact veteran principals whose schools saw drops in performance last school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Test scores released on Thursday show that 70% of schools met or exceeded growth targets last school year. That’s down from 73.% in the 2018-19 school year, the last time growth scores were previously given to schools.
Truitt said the state Department of Public Instruction found that federal Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief III dollars could be used help retain principals.
