NC voters consider merit-based teacher pay

N.C. voters are warming up to the idea of merit-based teacher pay, while people who work in education are more skeptical.

Nearly 50 percent of N.C. voters support salary increases for teachers based on performance, according to a poll released last week by BestSchoolsNC, a newly-formed organization to promote better education in North Carolina.

According to the same poll, 41 percent support across-the-board salary increases.

Teacher pay has become a contentious issue in the state, and discussion about the issue was renewed when Gov. Pat McCrory announced last month a two-year plan to raise pay for teachers with less than 10 years of experience.

“There’s a consensus that most voters in North Carolina believe that teachers should be paid more,” said Tammy Covil, executive director of BestSchoolsNC. “But at the same time, there’s also an expectation of performance.”

North Carolina ranked 46th in teacher pay in 2013.

Mark Jewell, vice president of the N.C. Association of Educators, said an across-the-board salary increase encourages administrators to treat teachers fairly, which is not the case with merit-based pay.

He said teachers who take on extra responsibilities and leadership positions should be rewarded for their hard work through promotions, not salary increases.

Jeffrey Nash, spokesman for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said he does not support salary increases based on merit because it promotes unhealthy competition among teachers.

“I don’t know of any educators who think merit pay actually works,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure that our teachers are collaborative rather than competing against one another for bonuses.”

The poll also showed that 60 percent of North Carolina voters support McCrory’s plan to raise beginning teacher pay.

Jewell said he believes the plan is a good start, but thinks it will treat tenured teachers unfairly.

“What the governor basically said to teachers who are veteran teachers in North Carolina is, ‘We’ll get back to you experienced teachers later,’” he said.

McCrory said last month that there would be more education reform when the state legislature reconvenes in May.

But Nash said North Carolina is losing well-qualified teachers who can get jobs in other states where pay is higher.

Jewell said the state should allocate more resources toward improving the public education system.

“North Carolina has always had world-class public education,” he said. “We have to have the very best and brightest and that’s going to take money and resources.”

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