Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

WS/FCS staff raise concerns about state teacher salary proposal

A proposed teacher compensation plan at the state level raises concerns for some Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools staff members. KERI BROWN/WFDD

A proposed teacher compensation plan at the state level raises concerns for some Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools staff members. KERI BROWN/WFDD

A few Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools staff members say the teaching shortage may worsen if a new state licensing and compensation proposal takes effect.

The proposal is called North Carolina Pathways to Excellence for Teaching Professionals

The state’s current salary schedule offers increases for years of experience and education level. This new system would focus on outcomes like test scores, evaluations, and student surveys to bump a teacher’s pay.

The draft plan is still being developed by a coalition of education leaders in the state with a goal of ending teaching shortages. But during the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education meeting on Sept. 13, some said it would have the opposite effect.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Michele Jordan said she would leave teaching if the state adopts a system that would make teachers “jump through hoops” for pay.

“You think we have vacancies right now? Just wait until that passes. And I know that's not on some people's radar, but it needs to be on everyone's radar,” Jordan said. “Like we need everyone advocating. We need our district staff advocating. We need all of us because this is going to be the nail in the coffin.”

Board Member Elisabeth Motsinger echoed her sentiments later in the meeting, and said the district should be having conversations with the state about this proposal. 

“I think we will lose a lot of teachers should that happen,” she said. “If we think we have a problem now? We will have a catastrophe.”

As of Sept. 13, the district had 37 classroom vacancies and 38 teacher assistant vacancies.

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate