Travis Towne: It is time to reinstate advanced (6th year and doctoral) degree teacher pay
As many teachers are intimately familiar with, in 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly froze teacher pay due to budgetary constraints and shortfalls. During this process, Session Law 2013-360 Senate Bill 402 Section 8.22 stated that:
“no teachers or instructional support personnel, except for certified school nurses and instructional support personnel in positions for which a master's degree is required for licensure, shall be paid on the "M" salary schedule or receive a salary supplement for academic preparation at the six‑year degree level or at the doctoral degree level for the 2014‑2015 school year, unless they were paid on that salary schedule or received that salary supplement prior to the 2014‑2015 school year.”
This means that any teacher who started work on their Master’s, 6th year, or Doctoral degree after August of 2013 would not receive the supplemental pay that is found on the NCDPI Compensation for Public School Employees Salary Scale page 37, section D (Teacher and Student Services) of the State Salary Manual 2020-2021 and Section V Graduate Degrees found in the North Carolina Board of Education Policy LICN-006 also provide the restrictions for teachers receiving this supplemental pay. Quite simply, if you didn't start your advanced degree before August 1, 2013 or are not in an administrator position, you will not be paid for any additional education or academic degree.
When I began my Doctorate degree program in 2015, I honestly wasn’t aware of this restriction and only found out a year into the program that I wouldn’t receive a bump in salary. However, I determined that I would continue the process and received my 6th Year (Specialist) degree in 2017 and fulfilled all requirements for an ED.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in 2018. Most people would assume that since I have my doctorate in education, I am paid for this qualification based on what they see on the North Carolina Salary Schedule, but they would be incorrect. The simple fact of the matter is that the assumption of pay for teachers based on these bills is inaccurate and creates a false narrative, especially to the public.
While the Master’s pay issue is continually addressed in previous education bills sponsored by members of the General Assembly and Governor Cooper has argued for the Master’s pay issue to be restored in his budget proposals, there has been no finalized agreement that I can find to correct this loophole for the long-term. Additionally, there has been minimal discussion about restoring the pay for advanced degree teachers who have earned this distinction because they wanted to bring continued excellence and knowledge to their classroom but intended to remain as a classroom teacher instead of moving into an administration-type role.
From a personal viewpoint, and one who is directly impacted by this legislation, it makes absolutely no sense to not provide an incentive to advanced and doctoral degreed teachers for their academic extra work and effort. Almost every other career field or industry provides incentives to their employees for gaining additional certifications, skills, and knowledge and the North Carolina education system should lead the way in this. North Carolinians want teachers in the classroom that have as much training and skills as possible and who continually work towards earning additional knowledge and experience in the academic field. However, it is much worse to say that incentives are being provided to these teachers knowing full well that this is not actually the case and in fact purposely denied based on fairly obscure legalese.
The deception of the public about what is actually being provided as pay/supplement to teachers is, for me personally, my main frustration overall. If I am not going to receive pay for my degree, then so be it and I have chosen to remain in the career I have for various reasons, but don't state in writing that this is being provided but then behind closed doors refuse to pay that amount because of a loophole in the law that was put there for that very purpose.
In my opinion, this is a horrible way to treat teachers who want to be better educated and better serve their students by obtaining advanced education. While I understand in 2013 there were some financial issues in the state and teachers’ pay had to be frozen and adjustments made, I think it is way past time to remove this restriction and restore the incentives for getting higher education degrees.
A recent article by David Bass in NC Political News noted that North Carolina teacher salaries are swiftly increasing but that merely awarding across-the-board pay raises is not actually providing “a compensation system designed to retain our very best mid- and late-career educators.” Currently, SB 551 and HB 497 (designated the Support Veteran Teachers bill) correctly attempts to recognize the contributions of veteran educators and provide compensation for their experiences. In Section 1.(b) (2), (3), (4), it states the additional salary supplement for teachers with advanced degrees, but unfortunately as previously discussed this supplement only applies to teachers who started their advanced degree before August 1, 2013. These statements are disingenuous at best and flat-out purposely deceptive at worst. Even a statement that acknowledges the restrictions based on Session Law 2013-360 Senate Bill 402 Section 8.22 would provide a semblance of honesty and transparency for these types of education bills.
As our North Carolina General Assembly and Governor consider the upcoming budget and specifically teacher pay, I would like to encourage them to reconsider the indefinite moratorium on teachers not getting paid for their educational qualifications and reinstate the Master’s, 6th year, and Doctoral degree supplemental pay fully and without restrictions. This is a win-win incentive for both the students and teachers of North Carolina. Until educators are fairly compensated based on their educational and academic preparation and not just on their time in service, I feel North Carolina’s compensation system will continue to lag behind other states. We have some wonderful teachers in North Carolina, but the past year has placed a tremendous strain on the education system and good teachers are leaving the educational system (for a variety of reasons). I personally feel the incentive of pay for advanced degrees will allow teachers the opportunity to enhance their own academic skill sets and provide North Carolina with highly qualified teachers who are compensated accordingly.
Dr. Travis Towne is a social studies teacher at the Lenoir County Early College High School in Kinston, NC.
You can connect with Travis on Facebook at facebook.com/travis.towne.18, on Instagram at travis.towne, or on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/travis-towne-69106443.
