This Week at the Legislature

We are now in the fifth month of the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Halloween has come and gone, and there is still no approved State budget. The budget veto override was included on the Senate calendar each day this week, but Republican Senate leadership did not put it up for a vote.

 

                                                           

With Halloween spirit in the air and witches walking the halls of the legislative building, the House and Senate adjourned on Thursday, October 31…temporarily until November 13, with stated plans to return again on January 14. Since the courts rejected the Congressional district maps this week, legislators plan to use that time to redraw maps (the same judges approved the legislative district maps this week). However, lawmakers will also be able to take up the Governor’s vetoes and other legislation.

 

Teacher Pay

The big headline this week was in the introduction and passage of SB 354: Strengthening Educators’ Pay Act. The bill includes school employee pay raises, but with a twist. Part I of SB 354 reflects compensation for public school employees as written in the vetoed State budget (HB 966), including a 3.9% teacher salary increase over the fiscal biennium. But Part II would provide higher pay increases if there is a budget veto override.

See “Highlights of K-12 Education Bills” below for more details on SB 354.

 

Mini Budgets

So far this session, 12 mini budget bills have been signed into session law by the Governor.

The following seven mini budget bills have been sent to the Governor:

• HB 231: UNC & Comm. Coll. Pay/Retiree Bonus
  • Requires a one-time 0.5% COLA increase to be paid on or before December 31, 2019 to retirees who are living as of November 1, 2019
  • Requires a one-time 0.5% COLA increase to be paid after September 1, 2020 but on or before October 31, 2020 to retirees who are living as of September 1, 2020
• HB 377: Teacher Step Act
• HB 398: Info. Tech. Budget/2019-2021 Fiscal Biennium
  • Appropriates funds to DPI to be used for the School Business System Modernization
• HB 399: Extend Tax Credits/Other Finance Changes
• SB 61: Community Colleges Budget/2019-2021 Biennium
• SB 557: Various Finance Law Changes
• SB 578: Reduce Franchise Tax/Expand Film Grants

 

Highlights of K-12 Education Bills

SB 354: Strengthening Educators’ Pay Act

• Presented to the Governor on Friday, November 1
• Teacher salaries

SB 354 Part I	SB 354 Part II (applies if there is a budget veto override)
Increases average teacher salary by 3.9% over the biennium	Increases average teacher salary by 4.4% over the biennium
Gives teachers with 16-20 years of experience a $500 raise for each fiscal year of the biennium	Gives teachers with 16-20 years of experience a $500 raise in FY 2019-2020 and a $1,000 raise in FY 2020-2021
Gives teachers with 21-24 years of experience a $1,500 raise in FY 2019-2020 and a $500 raise in FY 2020-2021	Gives teachers with 21-24 years of experience a $1,500 raise in FY 2019-2020 and a $1,000 raise in FY 2020-2021
Gives teachers with 25 or more years of experience a $600 raise in FY 2019-2020 and a $500 raise in FY 2020-2021	Gives teachers with 25 or more years of experience a $600 raise in FY 2019-2020 and a $1000 raise in FY 2020-2021

 

• Provides a $500 bonus no later than November 30, 2019 for teachers with 25 or more years of experience as of November 1, 2019 – GA intends to continue this bonus in 2020
• Modifies the definition of a “highly qualified graduate” for those entering the teaching profession in the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium – qualified graduates receive a salary supplement each month
• Grants small county signing bonuses for teachers who are employees in LEAs that received small county school system supplemental funding in the 2018-2019 fiscal year and are matched on the basis of $1.00 in State funds for every $1.00 in local funds, up to $2,000 in State funds
• Maintains the base assistant principal pay and supplements – pay is based on the “A” teacher salary schedule plus 19%
• Central office and noncertified personnel salaries

SB 354 Part I	SB 354 Part II (applies if there is a budget veto override)
Increases central office and noncertified personnel salaries by 1% for FY 2019-2020 – GA intends to appropriate an additional 1% pay increase for FY 2020-2021	Increases central office and noncertified personnel salaries by 2% each fiscal year of the biennium
Establishes maximum monthly salary levels for central office employees from State funds	Increases maximum monthly salary levels for central office employees from State funds for both years of the biennium
	Provides a 0.5% bonus for noncertified public school employees no later than October 31, 2020

 

• Designates how additional funds will be used if HB 966 becomes law
• Clarifies that if HB 966 does not become law, then Part I of this bill shall remain in effect – if HB 966 becomes law, certain sections of Part I of this bill and certain sections in HB 966 are repealed

 

HB 377: Teacher Step Act (all sections are consistent with HB 966 unless otherwise noted)

• Presented to the Governor on Friday, November 1
• Appropriates funds for principal salary increases for each year of the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium
• Establishes the 2019-2020 Teacher Monthly Salary Schedule for teachers and instructional support personnel to receive applicable salary step increases
• Authorizes salary supplements for highly qualified NC teaching graduates entering the teaching profession in the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium
• Provides principal salary increases for the 2019-2020 fiscal year based on school average daily membership and school growth scores
• Provides principal bonuses, consistent with HB 966, but changes the application of bonuses to not apply to principals who are no longer employed as a principal or whose last workday is prior to November 1, 2019 (was October 1) and requires the bonus to be paid no later than November 30, 2019 (was October 31)
  • Eliminates the principal double bonus for principals in schools with D or F performance grades
  • The chart below shows the bonus increase for principals in the top 5% and 10%

Statewide Growth Percentage	2019-2020 Bonus	2018-2019 Bonus
Top 5%	$15,000	$10,000
Top 10%	$10,000	$7,500
Top 15%	$5,000	$5,000
Top 20%	$2,500	$2,500
Top 50%	$1,000	$1,000

 

• Establishes the Principal Recruitment Supplement Program, which will provide an annual salary supplement of $30,000 for up to 36 months for a principal who is paid on the exceeded growth column of the salary schedule and accepts employment at a low-performing school that is in the bottom 5%

• • The principal remains eligible for the 36 months regardless of future school performance grades or whether the principal continues to be paid based on the exceeded growth column

• Authorizes assistant principal salary step increases for the 2019-2020 fiscal year based on years of experience
  • Pay is based on the “A” teacher salary schedule, plus 19%
• Authorizes salary step increases based on years of experience for employees of schools operated by DHHS, DPS, and SBE who are paid on the teacher salary schedule
• Clarifies that application of salary increases for principals does not apply to persons separated from service due to resignation, dismissal, reduction in force, death, or retirement whose last workday is prior to June 30, 2019
• Clarifies what sections are repealed if HB 966 becomes law

 

SB 522: Low-Performing Schools/Advanced Teaching Roles (Innovative School District (ISD) bill)

• Presented to the Governor on Thursday, October 31
• Defines a qualifying school as a Title I school governed by a LEA in the lowest-performing 5% of school performance grades
• Expands eligibility from elementary schools to include middle and high schools
  • Carve outs for eligibility include: alternative schools, cooperative innovative high schools, schools that are in their first or second year of operation, and newcomers schools
• Removes the cap of schools that could be in the ISD (was previously capped at five)
• Restart schools are now eligible for consideration and selection in the ISD
• Aligns the selection of innovative schools with those identified by the SBE for comprehensive support and improvement
• Requires LEAs to annually inform boards of county commissioners on academic progress of schools in the LEA
• Requires the SBE to transfer the lowest scoring school in the State for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years to the ISD in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years respectively
• Establishes a multi-year process that will transition up to five eligible schools to the ISD in the 2023-2024 school year and annually thereafter
• Allows LEAs to request that a school under its control be selected to the ISD
• Requires further study of reforms for assistance to low-performing schools
• Eliminates the cap on LEAs that can participate in the Advanced Teaching Roles Pilot Program and exempts participating schools from class size requirements

 

SB 199: Child Sex Abuse/Strengthen Laws

• Presented to the Governor on Friday, November 1
• Requires each LEA and charter school to adopt and implement a child sexual abuse and sex trafficking training program for school personnel who work directly with students in grades K-12
• Clarifies that a registered sex offender shall not establish residence within 1,000 feet of a public school under construction, as long as the local board of education has notified the sheriff with jurisdiction of the construction project
  • NC Council of School Attorneys (NCCOSA) was instrumental in the inclusion of this section of the bill

 

Public Policy Conference – Advocating for Students

January 23-24

Raleigh, NC

Early bird rate: $250 – After January 3: $325

Click here to register.

• Transforming an Education Culture: How to Improve Teacher Recruitment, Retention, Leadership, & Effectiveness
• Closing the Skills Gap: Tips & Tools to Achieve Educational & Economic Alignment
• 2020 Election Landscape
• Outside the Box Approach to Effective Advocacy
• Eliminating A-F Grades for Students: Hear from a Principal Who Recently Did It
• What’s Trending at the Legislature

 

School Construction

Senate Leader Phil Berger announced last week that addressing school construction was one of the Senate’s priorities before leaving town on Thursday, October 31. Unfortunately, a school construction bill was not introduced. Please continue to urge your legislators that funding a statewide school construction initiative is a top priority for your district.

Click here for the letter that a coalition of groups, of which NCSBA is a member, sent on October 24 to Governor Cooper and all members of the House and Senate.

 

 

Because of the adjournment of the House and the Senate, NCSBA will not be sending out a Legislative Update next week.

 

 

Leanne E. Winner
Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6686

Bruce Mildwurf
Associate Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6692

Richard Bostic
Assistant Director of Governmental Relations
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6677

Rebekah Howard
Governmental Relations Research Specialist
N.C. School Boards Association
(919) 747-6688