NC legislature approves teacher step raises and $350 bonuses
The North Carolina legislature has passed a bill that will give teachers a one-time, $350 bonus and step-increase raises.
The House approved the bill Wednesday, following the Senate’s vote on Monday night. It also includes step-raises for teachers this coming school year, which are based on their pay and longevity.
The bill now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk. If it becomes law, the bonuses will be paid by Oct. 31.
While the bill received lengthy debate in the Senate on Monday, the House vote on SB 818 on Wednesday was taken without amendments or debate because of a procedural move by the Republican leadership. The amendments that weren’t heard would have increased the bonuses to $900 as well as give them to cafeteria workers and other non-certified school personnel.
The bill’s $350 bonus is just for teachers and instructional support personnel.
Opposition over amendments
Rep. Kandie Smith, a Pitt County Democrat, had put forth the amendment extending bonuses to more school employees. She said they deserved the bonuses as well for working on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic.
The House vote on the bill was 84-35, with several Democrats voting with Republicans. After the vote, Democratic Leader Darren Jackson of Wake County said Democrats had hoped to have a chance to debate the amendments. He voted against the bill.
“I’m really taken aback by the fact that we are not doing anything for our non-certified personnel in this bill,” Jackson said, including bus drivers who have been serving meals to kids since schools closed in mid-March.
“It’s not that teachers don’t deserve a step increase or don’t deserve a $350 bonus,” he said.
With a Republican majority in the House, it could have passed without Democratic support.
“The Republicans can control, push through, whatever they want, so we didn’t have any other choice. I’m disappointed we’re not doing more,” Jackson said.
House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, said the money was what they believed they could afford.
“Look at the people who don’t have a job right now. We want to do all we can. We’re now facing one the greatest financial crises of our lifetime, certainly the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. The fact that we can do any kind of bonus is amazing,” Moore told The News & Observer after the session. “The fact that we’re not having to lay off and furlough is incredible ... and we haven’t had to come in and raise taxes.”
CARES Act money for teacher pay?
The Senate vote, which was 33-16, also fell mostly along party lines. Some Senate Democrats called the bonuses not enough.
During debate Monday, Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, a Wake County Democrat, urged his fellow senators to “do better” for teachers, “particularly when they’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty since March when they had to adapt quickly to teaching in a different way.”
Sen. Rick Horner, a Nash County Republican, told Democrats that “once again you’re missing an opportunity to give money to these teachers.”
Teachers have not had raises this past year from the General Assembly. The amount of raises, along with Medicaid expansion, were the center of the months-long budget battle between the Republican-majority legislature and Cooper and Democratic lawmakers.
But Republicans said on the Senate floor and the House floor that Cooper could use federal CARES Act money to give teachers an additional $600 bonus, making the bonus total $950 each.
A Cooper spokesperson told the N&O Wednesday that the governor’s office has consulted with other agencies and believes Cooper would be prohibited under the CARES Act from spending money from what is known as the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund for bonuses or compensation.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 6:26 PM with the headline "NC legislature approves teacher step raises and $350 bonuses."
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