Teacher assistants in the Wake County Public School System could see their contracts diminished from 10 months to 9.25 months if education funding is reduced to the levels in the current state budget proposal.<\/p>\n
The budget, now waiting for Gov. Bev Perdue\u2019s signature or veto, cuts education funding by 6 percent. The budget approved by the Wake County Board of Education in May assumes a 5 percent cut in state money.<\/p>\n
Wake schools Chief Financial Officer David Neter said Tuesday the additional cuts could total between $1.4 million and $2.2 million.<\/p>\n
Rather than eliminate positions, administrative staff proposed amending contracts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will keep teacher assistants in place all of the days the students are in place,\u201d Neter said. \u201cWe have discussed this with principals and they are in support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neter also outlined another change the state budget would require if it were to become law: an increase in the school year from 180 to 185 days. This could eliminate five teacher workdays if the General Assembly does not amend a state statute regarding teacher development.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s five days fewer for staff training and development,\u201d said Board Member Kevin Hill. \u201cWe\u2019re running up against research. We have to keep in mind what we\u2019re piling on teachers, keep in mind that we\u2019re pushing teachers to the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The five additional school days would also amount to about $500,000 in additional transportation costs.<\/p>\n
Superintendent Tony Tata and board members were pleased the General Assembly backed down from funding cuts as high as 10 percent. Board members praised Tata for meeting with state representatives and senators to urge them not to cut above 5 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to work the budget in the right direction,\u201d said Tata. \u201cWe\u2019re closer to five than we are to 10. I\u2019m not happy with it, but I\u2019m happier than I was with 10.\u201d<\/p>\n
Board member Keith Sutton offered a motion to draft a letter to the General Assembly thanking members for reducing cuts, but also detailing the impact of a 6 percent cut on the district.<\/p>\n
The letter could also ask that the legislative body reduce cuts to 5 percent, in line with those recommended by the state\u2019s Department of Public Instruction.<\/p>\n
The motion passed, but some members expressed reservations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have mixed thoughts about it,\u201d said Board Member Deborah Prickett. \u201cI\u2019m going to let the General Assembly do their work and not try to interfere. Whether it\u2019s political or not, it\u2019s political.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perdue has until June 16 to sign or veto the General Assembly\u2019s budget before it automatically becomes law. The legislature could override her veto with Democratic support.<\/p>\n
Neter will present the proposed teacher assistant cuts to the board for approval at its June 21 work session.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have every reason to believe that the state budget that will look like the budget on the governor\u2019s desk on the 21st<\/sup>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Teacher assistants in the Wake County Public School System could see their contracts diminished from 10 months to 9.25 months if education funding is reduced to the levels in the current state budget proposal. The budget, now waiting for Gov. Bev Perdue\u2019s signature or veto, cuts education funding by 6 percent. The budget approved by the Wake County Board of Education in May assumes a 5 percent cut in state money. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24030,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,55],"tags":[77,196,67],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7355"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}