Teacher development, struggling schools on chopping block as SBOE implements G.A.-mandated cuts
Members of North Carolina’s State Board of Education passed down $2.5 million in legislative cuts Tuesday, ordering layoffs and operations reductions that are most likely to impact professional development and support services for the state’s poor and low-performing districts.
State officials will need to chop another $737,000 to meet the legislature’s $3.2 million demand, board Chairman Bill Cobey said. Decisions about the location of additional cuts are likely to be made in early August.
“This is sort of like the first big step,” Cobey said. “But just like anytime you’re cutting, the next step, even though the amount is smaller, it may be that much tougher. So there’s a lot of work to still be done.”
Tuesday’s budget decision will eliminate seven filled and eight vacant positions within the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), reducing services from the agency’s school transformation and educator effectiveness divisions. The vote is also expected to reduce pay for DPI instructional coaches working with state teachers, shifting from 12-month to 10-month contracts.
Read more: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2017/07/25/teacher-development-struggling-schools-chopping-block-state-board-ed-implements-g-mandated-cuts/