Capitol Connection
Inside
MAY 2014 VOL. 6, NO. 5
Elections At a Glance — p. 6-8 —
NC Voters Send DC a Message — p. 10 —
TOP 5 IN ’14 CCSS
Re-structure Teacher Salary Scale, Reward Results
BY brian balfour The state legislature is back in session. The consensus around the state capital is that this year’s “short session” will live up to its name. But just because legislators won’t be in town for very long doesn’t mean they shouldn’t address some important issues. Following is a list of priorities the Civitas Institute believes should receive attention this summer:
Teacher Pay
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Gov. Pat McCrory has announced a plan to address teacher salaries, focusing on bringing up the average salaries of starting teachers, providing pay increases for all teachers, and creating targeted financial incentives. Such incentives are focused on
Stop Common Core
rewarding teachers who teach “high demand” subjects, earn a master’s degree in the subject they are teaching, and become more involved in leadership roles at their school. McCrory’s plan pushes discretion for these incentives to the local level, which is a step in the right direction. The governor’s plan fails, however, to tie salaries and bonuses to performance and results. The focus remains on inputs rather than rewarding more positive outcomes. Restructuring the teacher salary scale to reward student achievement measures should be the ultimate goal.
Common Core State lawmakers should follow the recommendations of the Legislative Research Committee on Common Core standards. The Committee’s report recommended legislation that would effectively remove Common Core standards from North Carolina’s public schools. The recommendation would be to create a new commission to evaluate the English and math Common Core standards, with an eye toward eliminating and replacing them. The new commission would complete its evaluations by the end of 2015. Civitas supports the elimination of the federally created Common Core standards and their replacement with state-based, high-quality standards.
TAX KS BREA
Reform Medicaid
Medicaid Reform North Carolina needs to reform its Medicaid program, which is growing at an unsustainable pace, crowding out other priorities from the state budget. Gov. McCrory has proposed a reform relying on Accountable Care Organizations, a proposition with several flaws that would at best generate very limited savings. Civitas instead would rather see North Carolina
Fight Extension of Tax Breaks for Film Production
enact a more sweeping “managed care” type reform – similar to the reform seeing success in Florida. State lawmakers also need to address long-term care (LTC) eligibility in Medicaid, as LTC is a main driver in the growth of Medicaid expenses.
Tax Breaks for Film Production North Carolina’s state tax code includes significant
FED FUNDS
What the legislature should be doing this session.
Reduce North Carolina’s Dependency on Federal Funds
breaks for TV and movie production companies filming here in NC. These tax credits are scheduled to expire at the end of this year. But there is substantial support, especially from lawmakers in areas like Wilmington that benefit from the tax breaks, to renew the credits. Civitas opposes crony capitalism that provides preferential treatment for tarCONTINUED on page 3
Does Wake School Board Hate Its Best Teachers? BY francis de luca The top officials in the Wake County schools must hate their best teachers. After all, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is rejecting $1.25 million -- $5 million over four years -- from the state to give their best teachers pay raises. Instead, WCPSS is supporting a plan to give raises to all staff with no regard as to how much time they actually spend in the classroom. These same leaders insist they want to help teachers earn more, but their plans would do little to aid provide effective reforms. Last year the state legislature approved a plan that would eliminate teacher “tenure” over a five-year period and require
that all teachers be employed by contract. The top 25 percent of teachers in each district would get an annual $500 pay raise for four years in exchange for giving up tenure rights. This would mean the best teachers would earn an extra $2,000 over four years and more every year thereafter. The provisions would impact approximately 2,500 teachers in Wake County. This is basic justice in rewarding those who perform the best. It would also improve schools, as teachers, like everyone else, respond to incentives. Plus, the state funding of $1.25 million comes at no additional cost to the county. But the Wake County School Board rejected
the pay plan as “unfair.” Instead, the district is seeking a pay raise of 3.5 percent for all employees, regardless of job performance or actual time spent in the classroom. Is it fair that the highest performing teachers often make the same pay as underperforming teachers thanks to having accumulated the same seniority and credentials? Is it fair that the average teacher in Wake County earns about $45,997 while about 38 percent of teachers earn less than $35, 200? Is it fair that those who actually teach children make significantly less than administrative employees such as senior administrators CONTINUED on page 3
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