North Carolina public school teachers would get $350 bonuses and potentially more one-time income in a Republican measure approved by the state Senate on Monday evening.

The proposal, which also includes the same bonuses for instructional support personnel, goes beyond the usual experience-based raises these categories of educators also would receive.

The measure, which goes to the House following a largely party-line vote, also encourages Gov. Roy Cooper to use federal COVID-19 relief funds earmarked for education to give additional $600 bonuses to these educators and other noninstructional school employees like custodians and cafeteria workers.

Cooper’s office has said he’s not allowed to use the money that way, citing federal guidance. But Watauga County Republican Sen. Deanna Ballard disagreed, saying it could be used for compensation for five instructional days added to next school year’s calendar related to the coronavirus.

The bill passed 33-16 after Senate Democrats tried to offer an amendment that would have located money to give guaranteed one-time bonuses of $1,250 to teachers and instructional support and $1,000 bonuses to noninstructional school employees. Republicans used a parliamentary maneuver to block the amendment.

The amendment from Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue of Wake County would have been paid from a reserve designed to prepare the state Medicaid program for its anticipated shift to managed care.

Blue said legislators needed to give educators larger bonuses to show how much the state appreciated their work as districts shifted to virtual learning this spring as the pandemic spread.

Floor debate devolved into a rehashing of the teacher pay fight in last year’s state budget stalemate. It ended with public school teachers receiving no raise save for the experienced-based increases.

Expectations for teacher compensation have been tempered with the virus-related economic downturn. The state now expects to receive $4 billion less in projected revenues by June 2021.

Related Stories
‹
GOP Uses State Capitol Protests To Redefine ‘Insurrection’
Written by KIMBERLEE KRUESI and ALI SWENSON Silenced by her Republican colleagues, Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr looked up from the House floor to supporters in the gallery shouting “Let her speak!” and thrust her microphone into the air — amplifying the sentiment the Democratic transgender lawmaker was forbidden from expressing. It was a brief […]
NC Teachers Group Critical of Proposed License, Pay Overhaul
Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Members of North Carolina’s leading teacher advocacy group criticized on Tuesday a proposed overhaul of public school instructor pay and licensing, saying that implementing such changes would make existing classroom staffing challenges even worse. The state Department of Public Instruction released to the State Board of Education in April a “sample” […]
Abortion Battles in State Courts After Supreme Court Ruling
Written by KEVIN McGILL, AMY FORLITI and GEOFF MULVIHILL Abortion bans were temporarily blocked in Louisiana and Utah, while a federal court in South Carolina said a law sharply restricting the procedure would take effect there immediately as the battle over whether women may end pregnancies shifted from the nation’s highest court to courthouses around […]
Union Will Defend Teachers in ‘Critical Race Theory’ Fights
Written by COLLIN BINKLEY One of the nation’s largest teachers unions on Tuesday vowed to defend members who are punished for teaching an “honest history” of the United States, a measure that’s intended to counter the wave of states seeking to limit classroom discussion on race and discrimination. In a virtual address to members of […]
'It's Not About Me': CHCCS Teachers Provide Support Through Pandemic
As local K-12 schools begin to wrap up their spring semesters, some teachers are still trying to come to terms with the past year. 
Teacher Vaccinations Go Untracked Amid School Reopening Push
Written by CASEY SMITH The national rush to vaccinate teachers in hopes of soon reopening pandemic-shuttered schools is running into one basic problem: Almost no one knows how many are getting the shots, or refusing to get them. States and many districts have not been keeping track of school employee vaccinations, even as the U.S. […]
Local Lore: Old Christmas
The Christmas holiday has more or less been the same for the past couple hundred years, drawing celebration inspiration from Christian and pagan tradition alike to create the season as we know it today. But in coastal North Carolina, you’ll likely find a few people still celebrating Christmas as it once was — before the […]
A Million-Plus North Carolina Parents to Receive $335 Check
More than a million parents in North Carolina are receiving a $335 check from the state government to help offset costs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Report: Parents of UNC Football Players to be Allowed at Remaining Home Games
After campaigning to be allowed into Tar Heel football games, parents of UNC players may have now gotten their wish. A report from Inside Carolina on Friday said parents and family members of the football program received an email from head coach Mack Brown sharing the new attendance policy, a change from around 50 fans […]
Inaction by Congress Leaves States to Pay for Election Costs
Congress’ failure so far to pass another round of coronavirus aid leaves state and local officials on their own to deal with the soaring costs of holding a presidential election amid a deadly pandemic. That could leave them scrambling to solve problems that surfaced during the primary season in time for November’s election. The coronavirus […]
›