NC Senate wants merit pay, end teacher tenure

According to the Hendersonville Times-News, North Carolina’s public school teachers would see employment tenure eliminated, but become eligible for performance bonuses under an education reform package rolled out Monday by Senate Republicans.

The public school initiatives were unveiled by Senate leader Phil Berger, who said most of the ideas should draw broad support because they are designed to make students better equipped to graduate from high school and avoid costly remedial classes at universities and community colleges. The price tag for the package would require an additional $45 million in the fiscal year starting July 1.

But Berger said he knows that some of the proposals will be controversial — the tenure elimination likely to be one of them — but believes there should be an honest debate on the state’s education policy. The debate on the so-called “Excellent Public Schools Act” is likely to begin in earnest when the Legislature reconvenes May 16 for its budget-adjusting session.

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