I participated in the major North Carolina Emerging Issues forum, where Governor Pat McCrory promised a pay increase to teachers in their first five years of teaching, but nothing for experienced teachers. Some veteran teachers will earn the same as teachers in thir fifth year. This went over like a dead balloon. Some observers speculated that it was a bonus for Teach for Merica, which won a $5-6 million contract fom the far-right McGrory administration at the same time that the nationally recognized North Carolina Teaching Fellows program was eliminated.
As salaries go up for new teachers, they stagnate for experienced teachers, who have not had a raise since 2008.
Before I spoke, I was preceded by a Teacher Town Hall, a panel of teachers who quit, mostly because they were disgusted by low pay, which seemed like disrespect. One teacher, who moved to Maryland, said she was earning $20,000 more.
NC has a major brain drain. Senior teachers are leaving because of low pay and lack of autonomy.
Apparently, that is what the Governor and legislature want. New teachers, low wages, high turnover. And that is called “reform.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I loved your line: “When I FLY HOME today I hope I have an experienced pilot and not a novice rookie” -Ravitch
Even though I could not be there in person I really appreciate you coming to NC and standing up for Public Education here.
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After working in a Florida school for 8 years I received a raise this year that now raises my pay to that of a first year teacher. It works for new teachers but feels like another slap in the face.
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I love your posts, Diane, but there are some serious typos in this one (typing from a mobile device?) Considering the number of English teachers reading, you might want to fix them.
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Tom,
I wrote that post in a bouncing taxi, coming home from the airport. But, no excuses! I fixed the typos.
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This was their goal all along. Replace high priced experienced teachers with cheaper less experienced teachers. It worked for me as last night I accepted a position in VA paying me $12K more per year than I would have made if I stayed. It is rediculious to think that in 2 years I would have 10 years experience and a masters and get paid the same as a first year teacher. Why would any veteran with less than 15 years experience stay? This will eventually save the state bundles if they are successful driving away teachers. I believe their next goal is to remove retirement benefits, only those “grandfathered” in will remain. They are now reducing the pool of “grandfathered” teachers, by insulting and driving them away. I’ll miss my friends in NC when we move to VA, but I won’t miss the games NC is playing with its dedicated teachers!
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A friend of mine, who is a great teacher in NC is leaving because of this. It’s sad.
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North Carolina is in a world of hurt.
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They don’t care. Everyone they know sends their kids to private schools. How many “brain workers” do you need anyway? The kids in the private schools will be the doctors, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, financial people, judges, etc. How much education do you need to work in a big-box store, mow a lawn, or be a waiter or a cop? Let’s be honest. If you give the lower classes too much education, they won’t be happy working for minimum wages, etc. They might get depressed. The elites don’t want an educated populace, no matter what the propaganda says. They never did. A critical-thinking populace doesn’t further their economic interests. This is why NC didn’t educate their slaves either. It’s the same principle. Ignorance is bliss!
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Mike, spot on and powerful.
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The pay shift makes sense only if your goal is to attract TFA bodies. “Come teach for us. The starting pay is okay, and it will never get any better” can only attract people who have no intention of sticking around. NC has gone furthest down reform road on the drive to create a fast food school system, where staff is cheap, minimally trained, and turned over every year so that nobody needs to get a raise.
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Thank you so much for traveling to NC and speaking on behalf of teachers. Thank you for helping to “connect the dots” from state to state. Thank you for trying to make the lives and education of children important. Thank you. If there is any hope for public education in NC it is because you have shone the light on the disrespect of children and teachers and the greed of politicians. Thank you.
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Hi Diane, I couldn’t help but notice a number of typos in this and your previous post. I’m not pointing this out to be critical but last year when you had the blood clot I noticed the same thing right before you let us know of your health problems. I hope I’m wrong but the typos and the fact that you’ve recently been flying has me a bit concerned. Please take good care of yourself.
Mary
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Your speech to the IEI Forum was extraordinary and really sparked immense discussion on the floor of the Forum and later this afternoon. It cogently summarized the dramatic and destructive effect of the Republican policies of this last session, which has led us to 49 th in the nation in teacher pay, 46th in state spending on education, the abrogation of career status for teachers while offering only 25% of teachers a long term contract no matter how many on merit deserve them, elimination of mentor pay and all professional development funds, termination of our nationally recognized Teaching Fellows Program, massive cuts to teacher assistant positions, student support services, administrative capacity, textbooks and supplies; and the creation of a new voucher system and all but unregulated charters, unmoored from their original purpose and accountable supervision, soon to litter every corner of the state. Five years ago our commitment to public education was the envy of most of the nation; today, we are the example of all that is wrong with the term “reform” of public education by those who, in reality, too often seek to abandon it, and a betrayal of our children and their educators in the process. Thank you for your inspiring words and being a part of moving our state’s citizens to reconsider the ideological overreach that has imperiled public education in North Carolina. Representative Rick Glazier.
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The children and teachers of North Carolina don’t deserve this.
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I meant to watch the conference online, but have been sidetracked by health issues recently. I would second Mary’s concern to take care of yourself. I hope you were just trying to type on an impossibly small screen. I will never be a “texter.” I would be interested in more comments about the conference. From what I am hearing, it sounds pretty depressing.
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Somehow not everybody in North Carolina is getting the message Diane. Read this on an empty stomach.
http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=10819
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Ms. Cartwheel,
The article is ridiculous. Professors Scott Imig and Robert Smythe conducted a survey of teachers and administrators and reported massive dissatisfaction. Educators have not had a raise since 2098. Teacher pay is 46th in the nation. Thousands of teachers and aides have been laid off. Money for textbooks and supplies has been cut. And this guy says that teachers are satisfied?
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Yes, very scary and people will believe him. It is showing up as an opinion piece in newspapers.
Thanks so much for coming our way. We appreciate your dedication to educators and education.
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Ms. Ravitch,
As an NC teacher, I just read this article. Is it possible you could rebut with one regarding how statistics can be massaged? I also love how one study is from Scholastic magazine. This magazine caters to K-6 teachers, and I wonder what percentage of all teachers in the country knew of the survey.
I have been reading your blog and following you for years. Keep up the good work! I truly believe a change wind is coming!
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He’s from the Art Pope, oops I mean John Locke Foundation. Say no more.
Diane, it was great meeting you, next time you come to Durham, don’t worry about bringing Brooklyn Pizza, we can get decent NY pizza here, bring bialys. We can’t get good bialys here.
Howard
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I’ll be retiring in a few years and have started to investigate places to spend my many years of retirement along with my retirement dollars. Guess which state has been crossed off my list of places to consider? I want to live in a state that values education and respects teachers. Governor McCrory is running one heck of “Don’t move to North Carolina” campaign.
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High Turnover, Low Pay and Inexperienced Employees won’t even produce a good janitorial service. This is an attempted takeover of the USA. It is the strategic/systemic destruction of the hearts and minds required for good democracy. It never was about school reform.
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Judging from this post, it appears that the brain drain in North Carolina, at least at the governmental level, began a few years ago.
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I don’t think our legislators know what they want. I really don’t. I think they are under the unfortunate influence of ALEC and they are not thinking. They are being robots. They are heavily influenced by the notion that a market mentality will fix everything and that the young and “fresh” will be better teachers by default. They have a reflexive “no taxes” hammer, and a defensive “we are right” explanation.
Because this is all about education, perhaps we should consider where our current leadership went to school themselves. I don’t find their actions to be that of well-educated men.
That is a blue moose that needs to be talked about. Elitism, whatever. Where you go to school matters if you are going to be in a position of influence. Otherwise, why do we rank or qualify some schools as better than others? If they were trying hard to work on behalf of all people across North Carolina in a way that did not throw such contempt at systems that strive for a common good, I would reserve this type judgement (I believe our educations can be what we make of them). But I don’t know how else to explain their lack of thoughtfulness. Can they produce a list of the books they have read in the last year?
It is true that we are equal in what we deserve as basic rights. But having leadership represent us in a government situation that does not acknowledge the complexity of a system that elevates the greater and common good above that of pats on the back or special rewards for the “top” shows questionable judgement.
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I think our current NC government didn’t think people would really care or notice. They believed the uber rich would support it, that they could dupe the poor into believing it was ‘good for them,’ and they middle class, what is left of it, would be too busy working to make ends meet to notice or too tired to fight it. But they were dead wrong because this is really a great state. People across racial and socioeconomic lines recognize what they are trying to do and are coming together. I say fight with your vote and plan on teaching my 5 year old all about it this summer as I volunteer to get people registered to vote in this years election. I will be out on Election Day, driving people to vote, making sure each dissenting vote gets cast so these bums, and that is what they are among other things, get voted out!
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I’m curious how this will effect the pay of new teachers with master’s degrees. Will their salary increase as well?
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