Last Wednesday, Gov. Pat McCrory found $10 million in the state budget to give pay bonuses to more than 3,000 teachers pursuing their master’s degrees, after signing a version of the budget that eliminated them earlier this summer.
This $10 million, the origin of which remains unknown after attempts to contact McCrory’s office were unanswered, could hardly have been put to a much better purpose. However, giving pay benefits to qualified teachers is clearly a low priority to McCrory, who dumped his leftover money into their hands as an afterthought.
McCrory said this week that he wants to reward teachers with raises, but his words conflict with his actions from this summer.
The governor’s inconsistency on the issue leaves teachers wondering what their salaries will look like in years to come and whether or not the mysterious $10 million will disappear in next year’s budget as suddenly as it appeared last week.
With such a questionable future for pay bonuses, many teachers will choose to enter the profession immediately after getting their undergraduate education, without pursuing a master’s degree. This will result in a lowered quality of instruction.
The governor’s actions are disrespectful to the qualifications of educators and disparaging to teachers’ desire to pursue their educations. But most startlingly, McCrory’s recent actions could decrease the quality of learning taking place in schools across the state.
McCrory should begin to recover the trust of citizens in this state by revealing a logical origin for the $10 million being used to fund pay bonuses this year.
He should also vow to find money every year to sustain bonuses in order to ensure quality control of such a valuable resource.
If he stays true to his most recent statements, McCrory may regain the respect of teachers.
