NC is moving to performance pay for teachers. Some say more details are needed.
A state commission unanimously approved Thursday an outline for testing how North Carolina public schools can change the way teachers are licensed and paid.
The Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) adopted recommendations from its four working groups that sketch out how teachers can be paid based on their performance instead of their years of experience.
Many of the details still need to be worked out, but the PEPSC report is expected to give the State Board of Education enough details to begin piloting the new program as soon as this fall.
“I don’t yet think that we have the details necessary for a successful implementation of a pilot, but I understand that this is an important step in moving forward to it,” Watauga County Superintendent Scott Elliott, a PEPSC member, said before Thursday’s vote.
The state board will vote on the commission’s report next month and ask the General Assembly for permission to pilot the program starting in the 2023-24 school year.
Changing how teachers are paid
Currently, the starting base salary for North Carolina teachers is $37,000 and rises based on years of experience to $54,000 on the state salary schedule. Teachers can earn more money from additional local and state pay.
PEPSC has been working on a multi-level license system that starts at $38,000. Teachers at the highest license would have a base salary of $56,000 to $71,000 — not counting an additional $5,000 or $15,000 a year they’d get for taking on advanced leadership roles.
Teachers would advance up the new levels if they can demonstrate their effectiveness. Teachers would provide evidence of their effectiveness based on their students’ test scores, performance reviews or other measures that would need to be developed.
The new model is opposed by the North Carolina Association of Educators, which calls it a merit pay plan.
Few details on pilot program
It hasn’t been determined yet which school districts would join the pilot. The pilot is expected to be a multi-year program before the state board could ask lawmakers to adopt the new system statewide.
“Some districts will need to see further details of implementation of the pilot before deciding to volunteer in,” Elliott said Thursday.
Aaron Fleming, vice chair of PEPSC and superintendent of Harnett County schools, said they need to identify what state policies, rules and statutes need to be changed before they can get into the weeds of the pilot program.
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, who is also a PEPSC member, said district superintendents can be assured that the state Department of Public Instruction and the state board will lobby the General Assembly to fund the pilot appropriately.
“This cannot happen if it’s not funded,” Truitt said. “In order for the pilots to proceed, there must be an appropriation that will allow participating districts to pay teachers who are at the various stages of licensure as we are recommending to the state board.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2023 at 3:10 PM.
