Category: Education
McCrory pitches teacher raises
by Mark Binker, WRAL, April 5, 2016. Gov. Pat McCrory used the school library at his old high school Tuesday to pitch an education budget proposal he says would raise the average teacher salary to $50,000 per year in North Carolina. “The average pay increase will be approximately 5 percent. … That’s more than $2,000 […]
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Margaret Spellings: Guaranteed admission “Right problem. Wrong solution”
by Julie Ball, Asheville Citizen-Times, March 11, 2016. After meeting with the new head of the UNC system, some Western Carolina University faculty members said they are encouraged by her willingness to listen and to involve them in solutions. Margaret Spellings toured the Western campus Thursday afternoon and met for about an hour with members of […]
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Nonprofit, union groups help organize Spellings protests
by Mark Binker, Gilbert Baez, WRAL, March 4, 2016. When a protest outside the University of North Carolina Board of Governors meeting wrapped up on Dec. 11, it wasn’t a faculty member or student urging people to return in January to continue pushing back against Margaret Spellings’ appointment as UNC president. Instead, it was D’atra Jackson, an […]
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Spellings highlights transparency, accountability at BOG meeting
by Kari Davis, Carolina Journal, March 4, 2016. Transparency will be a top focus for the UNC system’s administration in the coming year, President Margaret Spellings said Friday during her first official presentation before the Board of Governors. At the Fayetteville State University campus, the former U.S. secretary of education in the George W. Bush […]
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State Board of Ed: Teacher salaries top priority
by Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL, March 4, 2016. The State Board of Education has created a list of six budget priorities it wants Gov. Pat McCrory to consider this year. At the top of the list: teacher salaries. School board members debated this week whether to request a specific amount, as State Superintendent June Atkinson did […]
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Spellings makes good first impression on UNC chancellors
by Gilbert Baez, WRAL, March 3, 2016. University of North Carolina President Margaret Spellings has impressed several chancellors of the 17-campus university system during initial meetings. Spellings, whose first day on the job was Tuesday, spent Thursday meeting with UNC Board of Governors committees at Fayetteville State University. “I’m learning a lot. I’m listening a […]
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Crime, dropout rates increase in NC Schools
by Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL.com, February 25, 2016. Crime and dropout rates in North Carolina public schools increased last year, according to a new report released Wednesday. The state’s overall crime rate in schools increased 1.5 percent from 2013-14 to 2014-15 and 6.6 percent at the high school level. The dropout rate increased 4.8 percent during the […]
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Supreme Court weighs legality of teacher tenure law
by Matthew Burns, WRAL, February 15, 2016. Stripping veteran teachers of their tenure rights isn’t illegal, a lawyer for the state argued Monday. The North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments over a 2013 state law that required teachers to surrender their due process rights as career educators to obtain raises and multi-year contracts. A divided […]
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Spellings tells UNC Board of Governors she will not micromanage
by Julia Sims, WRAL, February 13, 2016. Margaret Spellings pledged on Friday to prove herself as a leader who would foster an affordable and accessible UNC system despite facing vocal criticism and protests over her appointment. Speaking for the first time in public before the UNC Board of Governors, Spellings acknowledged the acrimony that had […]
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Berger vs. Atkinson, Round 3
by Mark Binker, WRAL, February 4, 2016. State budget officials have sided with top Senate leaders in their spat with state Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson over whether education officials diverted money from the classroom to salaries for bureaucrats. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said on Monday that be believes $3.8 million lawmakers had set aside […]
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