Education

The University of South Carolina's president is asking South Carolina lawmakers to make a deal with him.

USC president Harris Pastides says he'll freeze tuition for three years if the state gives USC more money to pay for the college's operating expenses.

Union County Schools and Union County are having their day in court due to a budget dispute.  It’s actually been much more than a day.  To be exact, the two sides have been going at it in court for 23 days now and the legal fees are mounting.     

North Carolina school districts are using a new software called PowerSchool to do everything from scheduling classes to tracking students' grades.  But it’s had a rough start.  The latest glitch is that schools can’t produce up-to-date transcripts for students applying to college. 

North Carolina has received notices from 170 groups that want to open charter schools in 2015.  Forty-three of those schools are planned for Mecklenburg and 18 more for neighboring counties.  Two years ago, the state lifted its cap on charter schools.  This year 156 groups said they planned to apply, but only 70 ended up submitting applications and ultimately just 26 were approved.

Teachers in North Carolina now have until May to complete their master’s and still receive a 10 percent pay increase.  State lawmakers eliminated that automatic salary bump starting next school year.  The state board of education Thursday extended the cutoff date from April to May, so that teachers can use the spring semester to complete their degrees. 

Governor Pat McCrory wants to make sure all teachers currently enrolled in master’s programs qualify for the ten percent automatic pay raise that, up until now, has come with the degree.  State lawmakers eliminated the pay bump for advanced degrees this year. Right now teachers have to receive their masters by April 1 to qualify for the higher pay.  McCrory urged the school board to help extend the cutoff date. 

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. 

Next year North Carolina teachers will no longer get a 10 percent automatic pay hike for earning their master’s degrees.  So the race is on for those teachers in graduate programs right now. Universities are trying to give them every chance to complete their master’s degree before the cutoff date for pay increases next year.