GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 1223*

 
 
Short Title:	Teacher Assistants Salary Increase.	()	
Sponsors:	Representatives Nesbitt;  Morris, Barefoot, M. Crawford, and Wainwright.	
Referred to:	Appropriations.	
April 12, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish a teacher assistant salary schedule.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑12(16) reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑12.  Powers and duties of the Board generally.
The general supervision and administration of the free public school system shall be vested in the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall establish policy for the system of free public schools, subject to laws enacted by the General Assembly. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education are defined as follows:
…
(16)	Power with Regard to Salary Schedules. – The Board shall provide for sick leave with pay for all public school employees in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter and shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for necessary substitutes on account of sick leave and other teacher absences.
a.	Support personnel refers to all public school employees who are not required by statute or regulation to be certified in order to be employed. The State Board of Education is authorized and empowered to adopt all necessary rules for full implementation of all schedules to the extent that State funds are made available for support personnel.
b.	Salary schedules for the following public school support personnel shall be adopted by the State Board of Education: school finance officer, office support personnel teacher, maintenance supervisors, custodial personnel, and transportation personnel. The Board shall classify these support positions in terms of uniform pay grades included in the salary schedule of the State Personnel Commission.
		Local boards of education shall place State‑allotted office supportpersonnel and custodial personnel on the salary schedule adopted by the State Board of Education so that the average salary paid is the State‑allotted amount for the category. In placing employees on the salary schedule, the local board shall consider the education, training, and experience of each employee, including experience in other local school administrative units. It is the intent of the General Assembly that a local school administrative unit not fail to employ an employee who was employed for the prior school year in order to implement the provisions of this sub‑subdivision. A local board of education is in compliance with this sub‑subdivision if the average salary paid is at least ninety‑eight percent (98%) of the State‑allotted amount for the category at the end of the third payroll period of each fiscal year. The Department of Public Instruction shall provide technical assistance to local school administrative units regarding the implementation of this sub‑subdivision.
c.	Salary schedules for other support personnel, including but not limited to maintenance and school food service personnel, shall be adopted by the State Board of Education. The Board shall classify these support positions in terms of uniform pay grades included in the salary schedule of the State Personnel Commission. These schedules shall apply if the local board of education does not adopt a salary schedule of its own for personnel paid from other than State appropriations.
d.	The State Board of Education shall adopt guidelines for the implementation of the teacher assistant salary schedule enacted by the General Assembly.
…"
SECTION 2.(a)  The allotment formula for teacher assistants for the  2001‑2002 fiscal year shall be a dollar allotment. Local boards of education shall use these funds in the following order of priority:
(1)	To increase the rates of pay for teacher assistants who were employed for fiscal year 2000‑2001 and who continue their employment for fiscal year 2001‑2002. This increase shall be at least five percent (5%), commencing July 1, 2000, for all such teacher assistants unless a local board of education adopts a policy that provides for raises of less than five percent (5%) for all those teacher assistants who were employed for less than two‑thirds of the employment period for fiscal year 2000‑2001 and who continue their employment for fiscal year 2001‑2002. A local board of education adopting such a policy shall increase the salaries of those teacher assistants who were employed for less than two‑thirds of the employment period for fiscal year 2000‑2001 in accordance with the local policy; that local board shall increase the salaries of those teacher assistants who were employed for two‑thirds or more of the employment period for fiscal year 2000‑2001 by at least five percent (5%).
(2)	To begin implementation of the base pay under the salary schedule set out in subdivision (b)(1) of this section.
(3)	To provide salary increments to teacher assistants as provided in subdivision (b)(2) of this section.
SECTION 2.(b)  It is the intent of the General Assembly to adopt, fund, and implement a minimum salary schedule based on years of experience and level of certification. The minimum monthly salary of a teacher assistant under this salary schedule shall be one thousand three hundred eighty dollars ($1,380).
(1)	To the extent that teacher assistant salary funds allotted for the  2001‑2002 fiscal year are adequate for this purpose after implementation of the five percent (5%) increase, the following salary schedule for teacher assistants applies:

	Years of	Base Salary
	Experience	(Salary Without a Degree)
	
	1	$14,255
	2	$14,483
	3	$14,710
	4	$14,948
	5	$15,185
	6	$15,433
	7	$15,681
	8	$15,929
	9	$16,187
	10	$16,445
	11	$16,704
	12	$16,972
	13	$17,241
	14	$17,520
	15	$17,799
	16	$18,088
	17	$18,377
	18	$18,666
	19	$18,966
	20	$19,265
	21	$19,575
	22+	$19,885

As used in this section 'years of experience' means years as a teacher or teacher assistant in North Carolina public schools; and
(2)	To the extent that teacher assistant salary funds allotted for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year are adequate for this purpose after the implementation of (i) the five percent (5%) increase and (ii) the base salaries contained in this section, a teacher assistant shall receive a salary increment for meeting certification and degree standards as follows:
a.	Teacher Assistant Certificate from a Community College (18 credit hours) ‑‑ 2%;
b.	Teacher Assistant Diploma from a Community  College (48 credit hours) ‑‑ 4%;
c.	Associate Degree (60 credit hours) ‑‑ 6%; and
d.	Bachelors Degree ‑‑ 8%.
No teacher assistant shall experience a decrease in salary as a result of placement on the schedule.
SECTION 2.(c)  All local boards of education shall verify to the State Board of Education that they are providing a five percent (5%) raise to all teacher assistants. They shall also report on the placement of teacher assistants on the salary schedule.
 SECTION 2.(d)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of local school administrative units to transfer funds allocated for teacher assistants to teacher positions in accordance with G.S. 115C‑105.25(b)(1).
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2001.