Lynne Stevens
Without question, there is a shortage of qualified teachers in North Carolina.
According to Public Ed Works, North Carolina fell to 50% of the Gross National Product it spends for education. Starting teacher pay is among the lowest in the Southeast, coupled with the lowest pay of each state surrounding us.
The end result? Teachers re-locate to another state nearby and get paid more. Rural schools like ours rely on workarounds, which allow fewer qualifications to teach for a specified time.
We can’t miss the simple fact that we don’t have enough students wanting a teaching career. The pipeline for new teachers is badly damaged.
One thing any business knows is its cheaper and better to prevent an experienced person from leaving a job than the expense and time of recruiting and training a new person.
In North Carolina, new teachers are the first to leave. New teacher pay with college loans looming is no small reason they look for the exit. If we don’t support them when they are new – and pay a respectable wage – they have shouted from the rooftop that they will leave.
Science, Technology and Math (STEM) teachers are hard to find and the thought of putting minimally-qualified teachers in these critical roles should shock the conscience of school boards with a goal of turning out well-prepared students. High achievers from tech fields retire all the time and could find it challenging to educate our young people – or mentor a teacher – in the newest innovations in a field where we must compete in the future.
North Carolina has many defense, AI and technology companies. I suspect my dad – who had strong STEM credentials – would have loved to mentor a young teacher after retirement had he been asked. It’s time to think out of the box and open more boxes.
Voucher spending is at the forefront of disputes over money that could be used to build – not destroy – our public school system. On May 1, educators marched in Raleigh to draw attention to the lack of accountability of voucher money draining classroom resources. Since the state legislature increased voucher eligibility to anyone – regardless of income – there has been blowback, arguing vouchers are going to high-income families. It has been discovered kids already in private schools have applied for – and received – voucher money, which was originally sold as a way for low-income kids to get out of failing schools.
In order to get a full picture of the effect of vouchers on North Carolina schools, it will be necessary to investigate the quality of education taxpayers are subsidizing versus properly-funded public education.
North Carolina once had a public school system that was ranked superior.
What changed that?
Lynne Stevens writes a bi-weekly column for The Graham Star. She can be reached via email, geminga@mailfence.com.