The Impending NC Teacher Shortage

By Pete Kaliner, WWNC Radio,  July 29, 2013.

The local teachers union... er ... I mean ASSOCIATION is planning a protest (naturally) over the North Carolina budget.

From Mountain Xpress:

"The Asheville CIty Association of Educators is holding a protest march today, gathering at Asheville Middle School at 5 p.m. The march is at the same time as one held by the NCAE in Raleigh. ??The NCAE has opposed the latest education overhaul, including cuts, an end to teacher tenure, no pay raises, and an end to bonuses for educators who pursue higher education."

The NCAE also doesn't like the voucher program for poor kids trying to get out of failing public schools.  The union... er... I mean ASSOCIATION plans to sue the state.

Keep in mind, there will be no teachers or staff fired in Buncombe County due to the NC budget, as the Citizen-Times reports:

"The final state budget calls for a 21 percent reduction in state funds appropriated for K-3 assistants. Baldwin said the system will likely have to eliminate 24 positions, though no current employees are expected to lose their jobs."

And while the local and state Leftists are predicting complete and utter destruction of our educational system due to the new budget, the Right points out that total education funding is going up $400 million over last year.

Further, Democrats also predict teachers will leave NC to go teach other places. However, an analysis from the NC Department of Public Instruction doesn't support that prediction, either. The statewide turnover rate is about 12% - which is quite low when compared to other private-sector industries.  Naturally, some districts have higher turnover than others.

As you can see, the primary reason for teachers leaving is retirement. And the vast majority of those retiring are doing so at the full benefits level.

When you look at the people who quit to teach somewhere else, 84% of them are staying in North Carolina. More than 76% will stay in NC public schools.

What the chart shows is what educators have told us forever - that they feel called to be teachers and that money is not the motivating reason why they do it. That is not to say teachers should not be compensated adquately for their work.

However, the data doesn't support the argument that teachers are quitting because of the pay scale.

In fact, with the growing number of alternative options in NC - like charters and private schools accepting vouchers - teachers will likely be able to command higher salaries as they leverage the increased competitiveness in the job market.

Good teachers will always be in high demand. Hopefully, they'll now be better able to get compensated for that expertise.