Hundreds of teachers in masters programs have a dilemma. They’ve paid thousands of dollars for courses thinking it will pay off with a 10 percent automatic pay hike. But North Carolina lawmakers eliminated that this year, so only teachers who get their masters before the cutoff date next year will still get the salary increase.
Republican Representative Bill Brawley of Matthews said at a Charlotte Observer forum this week he’ll push to extend that cutoff date.
“I will concede people in the program now are accidentally being eliminated,” said Brawley. “I personally am going to fix that because it was a promise made and it was a promise that needs to be kept.”
Brawley says he’s heard from other lawmakers who feel the same way.
Right now teachers must get their masters by April 1st to receive the pay bump. The state board of education may decide to move that to the end of May.
