Gov. Mike Easley instructed the Office of State Budget and Management Monday to pay North Carolina teachers in full for gains made on last year's academic achievement evaluation exams.
The move was welcome news to educators who feared their $1,500 bonuses would be reduced after unexpected progress on the achievement tests resulted in a $40 million discrepancy between projected costs and actual awards earned.
The ABCs of Public Education tests students' mastery of core subjects and rewards schools that show significant progress with monetary bonuses for educators.
The ABCs results released earlier this fall came as something of a surprise, with the number of schools making high growth jumping from 35.5 percent in the 2001-02 academic year to 72.9 percent last year.
"We have seen gains each year in the ABC [examinations] and we were glad to see that all of the efforts [to close] the achievement gap and help students to reach their full potential were reflected in those results," said Priscilla Maynor, assistant to the state superintendent. The monetary awards are divided into two categories: the first class rewards certified staff members with $1,500 and teacher assistants with $500, while the second awards certified staff members with $750 and teacher assistants with $375.
The state had set aside $96 million for incentive awards--far short of the $140 million necessitated by gains in test scores made this year. The General Assembly authorized teacher incentive awards of 'up to' $1,500 which led many to believe that the size of awards would be decreased due to the deficit between the projections and actual commitments.
However, Easley sent a letter earlier this week to David McCoy, Director of the Office of State Budget and Management, directing him to pay teachers the maximum awards for which they have qualified.
"This is the right course of action," Easley wrote in the letter. "Our teachers have worked hard to help students improve."
The funding will come from within the $6 billion budget for public schools. Approximately 50 percent of the deficit, $23 million, will be drawn from projections of unspent public schools monies at the end of the year, the News & Observer of Raleigh reported.
Another $10 million will come from revenue set aside for school bus purchases. Finally, $11 million will be drawn from funds earmarked for students who tested below grade level since this year's results indicate that the number has declined.
Maynor said the Department of Public Instruction worked with the governor's office in identifying the funding to meet the ABC incentive award commitments. "We are pleased with being able to provide the full incentive to certified staff and teacher assistants," Maynor said. The DPI sent out the allotments yesterday and they will be distributed to educators by the end of the week.
Bert L'Homme, associate superintendent for instructional services for Durham County, said the dramatic improvements cannot be attributed to any one specific program.
"There are dozens of initiatives driving this [improvement]," he said.
The test scores of minority students improved significantly, with African-American students making the greatest gains.
"The goal is for all children to reach 100 percent," she said. "With the achievement gap, we're looking at [improving the scores of] the populations of students that have not fared as well as other groups."
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