NC Drivers May Help Fuel Teacher Bonuses

Soon North Carolina motorists will be able to personally support the state's public school teachers.

North's Carolina Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest was in Greensboro September 18, Thursday, as part of tour promoting a way motorists can support the state's public school teachers. It's a proposed specialty license plate called, I Support Teachers. Forest says when people buy the $48 plate, $10 will go into a North Carolina Education Endowment. Each year, this fund will give bonuses to the state's best performing teachers, which he believes will help attract and retain educators. “It's also a feel good thing for teachers as they drive around the state to see people who have invested in them," explains Forest. "To look at the back of a car and say, 'those people support what I do every day'.”

According to Forest, the General Assembly has put a million dollars in the endowment. Still, more work needs to be done. The selection criteria hasn't been finalized yet for who will get the bonuses.

But Ann Petitjean says she doubts the endowment will be sustainable. She's a 2nd grade teacher with 20-years in the classroom and president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators. Petitjean believes the people who will buy these license plates will most likely be teachers, so they'll be funding their own bonuses. “Why not cut the tax breaks that are being used for corporations and use that money for education," says Petitjean. "We don't need to feel good, we need to pay our bills.” 

Logan Smith agrees. He says he comes from a long line of public school teachers. Smith says now it's time North Carolina legislators show they support teachers with better education policies and funding. "During election year, they're happy to pay lip service to teachers," says Smith. "But when they keep their office then you see what their priorities really are and education is at the bottom of that list."

The North Carolina DMV requires 500 people to preorder with payment before it will begin production of the I Support Teachers specialty plates.