The North Carolina $21 billion dollar budget has been signed by Governor McCrory.
Of note — The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is getting a much-needed budget haircut to the tune of 10%. GOOD. The bloat and spending at DPI has gone unchecked for years.   More Education related highlights via My Fox 8:

-Raise the pay of public school teachers by an average of 7 percent at a cost of $282 million.

– Give most other state employees a $1,000 pay raise and five extra vacation days.

– Spend nearly $42 million to reduce class sizes in kindergarten to 18 children per teacher and to 17 students per teacher in first grade, an increase of 760 positions.

– Preserve the jobs of classroom teaching assistants in early grades.

– Eliminate funding for the Teaching Fellows program, which gives college scholarships to students in exchange for working as educators.

– Direct public schools to stock epinephrine injectors, commonly known as EpiPens, to treat someone suffering from an extreme allergic reaction.

– Set up an education endowment fund which can collect donations from corporations and people who want to increase teacher pay.

– Order the State Board of Education to authorize a virtual charter school, a type of online-only school that has faced criticism over lack of academic quality and oversight.

– Restore $11.8 million that lawmakers last year took away to account for lower public school enrollment as about 2,400 students used a new voucher program to move to private or religious schools.

– Provide another $840,000 to expand Opportunity Scholarship Grants, the voucher program for students to attend private or religious schools. The added cash increases funding for the program scheduled to start this academic year to $10.8 million.

It should be noted that teachers in the 5-8 year range are going to see between 15%-18% increase. Keep that in mind when you see the NCAE complaining.

Masters Pay eliminated going forward.  Those who earned their Masters in 2014-2015 or have one course towards their Masters as of August 1, 2013 will be Grandfathered.

The ‘Educational Endowment Fund’  got $1 million.

Rep. Paul Stam offers more detail on the impact the raises for teachers will have in Wake County, as well as statewide via John Locke:

Wake County has one of the highest local supplements in the state which is based upon a percentage of a teacher’s pay.  A beginning teacher in Wake County will see his or her pay increase from $35,189 to $37,703. Experienced teachers with a Master’s degree and National Board certification will see their pay increase from $79,540 to $81,011.  Teachers receive a rich retirement and benefits package which includes eligibility for fully-paid lifetime supplemental healthcare benefits. North Carolina is one of a few states to offer this benefit.

The budget consolidates the 36-step pay system into a 6-step plan. The budget provides supplemental pay for teachers who complete a Master’s degree provided they completed at least one course by August 1, 2013. 

Read the whole thing. Links to the Wake supplemental salary schedule, teacher salary schedule and more are included in the John Locke article.

Useful Links:

• Senate Bill 744 Bill Status History
• Appropriations Act 2014 Text – SL2014-100
• Salary Increase Schedule 2014