Welcome
The Regular Session of the 2013-2014 biennium of the North Carolina
General Assembly officially convened on January 9, 2013, but the session really starts when the legislature
reconvenes tomorrow. What kinds of
changes do they plan to make to the state’s public schools? I have no idea. Fortunately, my crystal ball has been working
overtime.
Bulletin Board
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the North Carolina History Project Encyclopedia. Please contact Dr. Troy Kickler for additional information. - Discuss. I would like to
invite all readers to submit brief announcements, personal insights, anecdotes,
concerns, and observations about the state of education in North Carolina. I will publish selected submissions in future
editions of the newsletter. Requests for anonymity will be honored. For
additional information or to send a submission, email Terry at [email protected]. - Revisit. We have archived all research newsletters on our
website. Access the archive here.
CommenTerry
Let’s get right to it, shall we?
School Choice
Republican legislators are ready to expand school choice,
but they must iron out many issues. How
will the choice program be funded? Who
will be eligible? How much will it cost? Will the state impose regulations on choice
schools? Will there be a cool acronym
involved? You get the idea.
One need not deal a reversed
Knight of Pentacles from a Rider-Waite
tarot deck to know that school choice is at the mercy of the tax code debate. Because there is no consensus about how
the state should restructure the tax code, the school choice debate will not
heat up until we get into the middle or even later months of the session. Since this is the case, the size and scope of
the school choice plan may be smaller than desired by some, including yours
truly.
Tenure and Performance
Pay
I think it is safe to say that the current tenure and
compensation systems will be changed.
The real question is — how far will the legislature go? Will they eliminate tenure or grant it to top
performing teachers only? Will the General
Assembly overhaul the state salary schedule or include a performance pay system
as a component of it? Will advocacy
groups engage in guerilla warfare or look to strike a compromise?
I do not believe the General Assembly will eliminate
tenure. Rather, they will grant it to
top tier educators without strong resistance from the public school lobby. On the other hand, the performance pay issue
will not be settled easily and ultimately will be to nobody’s satisfaction. There is no "one best system" of
performance pay or any education reform for that matter. Hopefully, legislators will tap the practical
experience of those who designed performance pay programs in Forsyth, Guilford,
and Mecklenburg counties to begin developing a statewide system that has a sturdy,
research-based foundation.
Career and Technical
Education
Fortunately, career and technical education will regain
traction. As
usual, I consulted my Magic 8 Ball (M8B) and inquired if the General
Assembly would develop a statewide vocational education system that integrates
high school, community college, and North Carolina’s business community in new
and innovative ways. The M8B said, "My
sources say no." Since I have no
reason to doubt the M8B’s sources, I will say that the gains in career and
technical education will be limited to the creation of separate tracks and
diplomas for high school students.
As an aside, I think the career and technical education
issue is an ideal opportunity for our exceptional lieutenant governor, Dan
Forest, to advance education reform in North Carolina. Lieutenant Governor Forest comes from the
private sector and sits on both the State Board of Education and the State
Board of Community Colleges. These are
the three entities that must begin to work together if we truly want to strengthen
the state’s career and technical education program.
Education Budget
According to the National Association of State Budget
Officers (NASBO), North Carolina elementary and secondary school spending
jumped by 9.9 percent during FY 2011 and FY 2012. It was the second largest increase of any
state in the Southeast and the third largest increase of any state in the nation.
However, I do not believe a comparable increase is in the cards this year. I have joined the chorus of those who predict
that state education funding will remain relatively flat, that is, in the $7.6
billion range. Local and federal funding
appears to have stabilized, so I suspect that the state will continue to spend
roughly $12 billion to operate North Carolina’s public schools.
Other Matters
Hopefully, the legislature will restore local and state
control by providing maximum school calendar flexibility, crafting a new public
school funding formula, and escaping the Common Core State Standards mess. In addition, a few strategic revisions to the
charter school statute may be in order.
By the way, if you would like a more detailed policy
discussion of any of the issues discussed in today’s CommenTerry, I encourage
you to read the John Locke Foundation’s new book, First in Freedom: Transforming Ideas into Consequences for North
Carolina. It is available here.
Facts and Stats
Sixty percent (60%) of North Carolina lawmakers will be
serving in just their first or second term in the state legislature.
(Source: North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation, "Meet
the 2013 N.C. General Assembly Freshman Class," January 24, 2013)
Education Acronym
of the Week
NCGA — North Carolina General Assembly
Quote of the Week
"The General Assembly shall provide by taxation and
otherwise for a general and uniform system of free public schools, which shall
be maintained at least nine months in every year, and wherein equal
opportunities shall be provided for all students."
– Article IX, Section 2.1 of the North
Carolina State Constitution
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Update archive.
