4
NCAE
News Bulletin
November 2012
Members show their support as Beth Silver, president of the McDowell County Association of Educators (inset), speaks to the McDowell County Board of Education. Photo: Landdis Hollifield, The McDowell News
McDowell County NCAE Staves Off Change in Supplement Pay As Beth Silver stood in the Central Office parking lot, she was overwhelmed at the number of members who were turning out to have their voices heard and to support her as she prepared to speak on their behalf before the school board. She wasn’t about to let them down. Silver, president of the McDowell County Association of Educators (MCAE), was confident that she was doing the right thing. Superintendent Gerri Martin announced that teacher and principal supplements would be divided into two payments instead of distributed as one, and Silver knew the new policy would affect the wallets of educators countywide. This meant that employees would receive half of their supplement in October and the other half in June 2013 (between $825 and $1,025, depending on the job). The superintendent’s rationale for the change was that the current method was not sound fiscal management and it didn’t make sense to prepay monies for hours that had not yet been clocked. “I was so sad that it had to come to this,” said Silver, a second-grade teacher
at Glenwood Elementary School. “The certified staff in our system work so hard and it made my heart heavy to know that we even had to address this issue.” During her presentation, Silver pointed out that making the switch would place undue hardship on employees who counted on getting the supplement the same time each year. “Many teachers have already allocated their yearly supplement for household necessities like heating expenses, property taxes and college tuition payments. It’s not that teachers were against the new change, but were simply asking Dr. Martin to give them a grace period to prepare for it.” The next day, Silver and the MCAE executive board began calling members of the school board about the decision. Many were sympathetic and sincerely listened to the message that she and others were trying to relay during the meeting. The conversations that took place must have been effective because by the end of the week, the superintendent had reversed
her decision. “We received word to check the McDowell County Schools’ Web site and saw Dr. Martin’s letter. We all high-fived each other and then I found a quiet spot to thank God for giving me the guidance and wisdom to speak on behalf of the situation.” Silver commented that she doesn’t see the reversal as a “victory” for MCAE; it was the right thing to do. “This experience has put NCAE in the forefront of the minds of the public school employees in McDowell County. Everyone is growing closer and I see it as a turning point in the right direction for our organization. I am proud of my colleagues; so many of us, including myself, grew up here and returned to the community to give back. They love their students and they work hard every day to ensure that learning is taking place in classrooms across our county. We don’t receive many rewards but ALL of us deserve the few that we do get!”