Some North Carolina lawmakers are proposing legislation to help entice retired teachers back to the classroom.
Senate Bill 399 would allow retired teachers to return to work in high-needs schools, without adversely impacting their retirement benefits.
Those schools are classified as Title I, which receive federal funds to help address poverty challenges, and schools that receive an overall performance grade of D or F from the State Board of Education.
Teachers would receive a salary of $35,000 to $40,000 a year depending on the subject area. For example, those who teach math, science or special needs classes would be on the higher end.
The bill has bipartisan sponsorship.
House Rep. Kelly Hastings, a Republican who represents Cleveland and Gaston Counties, says the measure gives districts another tool to help struggling students.
“We want to recruit and retain teachers. Since 2011 we have passed numerous increases for teacher pay and there's been a significant effort to improve education in North Carolina. It's hard to pinpoint one area and think you have the exact answer. However in this particular scenario, [the Senate is] trying to accomplish a laudable goal and that is bringing back a retired teacher to work in these high-needs schools.”
Ronda Mays is President of the Forsyth County Association of Educators. She says she's happy to hear about the proposal, but says more needs to be done to help districts across the state.
“It definitely is going to address some of those shortfalls as far as having certified, licensed instructors [and] teachers in the classrooms. But we're still not getting to the root of why we need to have such a bill,” says Mays.
Teachers will have to meet some requirements to qualify for the program. They must have been retired on or before Feb. 1st of this year.
*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news
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