1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,519 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,600 go to dpeakclendarshow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,640 your support. And on Tuesdays we usually welcome to the 10 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,759 program Andrew Dunn. He is the publisher of long Leaf 11 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:40,320 Politics longleafpol dot com and also a contributing columnist to 12 00:00:40,359 --> 00:00:41,520 The Charlotte Observer. 13 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 2: Hey Andrew, how are you. 14 00:00:44,119 --> 00:00:46,119 Speaker 3: I'm doing great. It's nice to be back. 15 00:00:46,359 --> 00:00:49,079 Speaker 1: Yes, I appreciate you making time. As always, I was 16 00:00:49,119 --> 00:00:55,240 reading through your latest over at the Observer that Republicans 17 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:59,679 are finally leading again on teacher pay. Lent over a 18 00:00:59,719 --> 00:01:02,960 little bit of the details on this last week. This 19 00:01:03,079 --> 00:01:08,359 proposal that comes from from Republican Aaron Parrey, is that 20 00:01:08,359 --> 00:01:10,159 that you pronounce her name Parrey. 21 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 2: It is yeah, okay, got it all right? Good? 22 00:01:12,359 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: And so the idea is to take starting teacher pay 23 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:18,840 to fifty thousand dollars. 24 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 2: So walk us through sort of. 25 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:22,799 Speaker 1: And you do a good job of this in the 26 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,719 piece to explain like where we were ten years ago, 27 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,400 twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen time frame, and then what happened 28 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,959 at the legislative level. Yeah. 29 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 3: Look, so you know, teacher pay has been a thorny 30 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:40,439 issue in North Carolina politics for decades under both Democrats 31 00:01:40,439 --> 00:01:45,239 and Republicans. When Republicans came in, especially early on after 32 00:01:45,239 --> 00:01:48,159 they took control of the General Assembly, there was a 33 00:01:48,159 --> 00:01:52,599 lot of work around raising teacher pay and the legislator 34 00:01:53,079 --> 00:01:56,079 legislators would kind of go back and forth. They'd raise 35 00:01:56,239 --> 00:01:58,560 entry level teacher pay, and then they the next year 36 00:01:58,599 --> 00:02:02,079 they'd go raise later career teacher pay, that sort of thing. 37 00:02:02,239 --> 00:02:04,439 And you know what we saw is that North Carolina's 38 00:02:04,519 --> 00:02:08,639 rankings really jumped from low forties to you know, depending 39 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,560 on how you slice it, either twenties or thirties, So 40 00:02:11,759 --> 00:02:16,240 a very significant difference there. But then once Democrats broke 41 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,800 the supermajority and then Governor Cooper could sustain a veto, 42 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,240 basically all that progress more or less stagnated. Teacher pay 43 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,080 became caught up in the budget bills. Ever, getting vetoed 44 00:02:28,159 --> 00:02:31,360 and so some years teachers didn't get any sort of 45 00:02:31,479 --> 00:02:36,919 rais whatsoever. Other years it was relatively small. And then 46 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,280 it kind of just went away from the overall messaging. 47 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:41,319 You know, we started to hear a lot more about 48 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,680 school choice, about opportunity scholarships, and I don't want to 49 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,360 say that that wasn't good. I mean that was fantastic. 50 00:02:47,439 --> 00:02:51,400 I think the legislature absolutely should have done that, but 51 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,919 you just didn't hear as much about public schools and 52 00:02:54,159 --> 00:02:57,439 public school teacher pay. So basically the gist of the 53 00:02:57,479 --> 00:03:00,439 column is that, you know, Republicans are getting back to 54 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,360 that previous era. They're leading on teacher pay and this 55 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:09,280 bill from Representative Paraye sounds like a really good start there. 56 00:03:09,599 --> 00:03:13,039 Speaker 1: Yeah, and so, and to your point about how the 57 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,800 focus was, you know, a decade ago on rookie teachers 58 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,680 and then veteran teachers and such, they Republicans kept trying 59 00:03:20,719 --> 00:03:24,159 to implement various kinds of I mean, I guess I 60 00:03:24,159 --> 00:03:28,120 could call it merit based types of systems, right, versus 61 00:03:28,319 --> 00:03:31,400 just the straight up longevity pay like Okay, you've been 62 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,240 here x amount of years that means you get this 63 00:03:33,319 --> 00:03:35,599 amount of money. And they wanted to kind of break 64 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,439 up that model, but they ended up getting a lot 65 00:03:38,439 --> 00:03:40,800 of pushback. I think they could even if Memory Service 66 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,560 they got sued to try to preserve some of those 67 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:46,120 those scales. 68 00:03:47,759 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely. I mean the Teachers' Union is very much 69 00:03:51,439 --> 00:03:55,520 against merit based pay. You know, there's always been a 70 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,680 lot of appetite for merit pay, but politically it's more challenging. 71 00:03:59,719 --> 00:04:02,560 I think the appetite is still there to do it, 72 00:04:03,479 --> 00:04:06,639 and I do think that this is a first step 73 00:04:06,719 --> 00:04:12,120 towards getting towards moving in that direction. It's very strategic 74 00:04:12,159 --> 00:04:16,040 to raise entry level teacher pay as opposed to later 75 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:18,560 career teacher pay, because you know, to kind of fill 76 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,319 the pipeline of new teachers, you really need to recruit 77 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,120 top teaching talent that's early on in their careers and 78 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:28,680 then you know, have them establish their careers here. So 79 00:04:29,079 --> 00:04:30,839 I see this as a good first step and a 80 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:35,839 more strategic teacher pay framework. You know, you raise entry 81 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,399 level teacher pay and then you get you know, next 82 00:04:38,439 --> 00:04:40,639 year or the year after, then you start talking about 83 00:04:40,639 --> 00:04:42,600 more merit pay structures that can work. 84 00:04:43,759 --> 00:04:47,040 Speaker 1: One of the challenges I've often had is whenever having 85 00:04:47,519 --> 00:04:51,560 discussions about this topic, or on per pupil expenditures. 86 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 2: Also, I always ask what the number is. 87 00:04:54,079 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: Like, what's what's the optimal number that we need to spend? 88 00:04:58,759 --> 00:05:01,959 And usually if I'm arguing with somebody on the left, 89 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:03,480 they don't want to They don't want to give me 90 00:05:03,519 --> 00:05:05,399 a number. They don't want to give a figure, and 91 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,600 I don't know why that would be. They usually just 92 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,120 say something like, you know, take us to the national average, 93 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,000 and so does this I don't know, does this make 94 00:05:15,079 --> 00:05:19,439 us at the national average? Would this take us closer 95 00:05:19,439 --> 00:05:22,639 to the national average? If we started at fifty thousand dollars? 96 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 3: Well, you know exactly why they don't want to throw 97 00:05:25,959 --> 00:05:30,519 out number, because it's a political tool, right, Yeah, no, Matt. 98 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,639 If they throw at a number, then they can't you know, 99 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:36,600 whatever Republicans put out there, you know, seven eight nine percent, 100 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,519 whatever it is, you know, the Democrats are always going 101 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:41,519 to come back and say, well, that's not enough. It 102 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,680 needs to be eleven, thirteen percent, what have you. Because 103 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,560 it's purely a political tool. And that's why it's so 104 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,920 important to get out of that framework of only talking 105 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,399 about teacher pay in terms of what percentage increase we're 106 00:05:54,399 --> 00:05:56,839 getting at. And I also think we need to get 107 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,959 out of the average teacher pay ranking discussion too. I mean, 108 00:06:01,079 --> 00:06:04,800 it's somewhat useful, but your average teacher pay is always 109 00:06:04,879 --> 00:06:07,319 going to be weighed down on you know, how many 110 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:11,079 younger teachers do you have in your state versus older teachers? Right, 111 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,680 And there's so many different ways to slice and dice 112 00:06:13,759 --> 00:06:16,600 that data that it's not the most useful tool in 113 00:06:16,639 --> 00:06:17,040 the world. 114 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,439 Speaker 1: Yeah, and cost of living is different state to state, 115 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,560 regions to regions, even in the same state, so it's yeah, 116 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,120 it's difficult to wait all of that appropriately. So I 117 00:06:28,199 --> 00:06:31,120 highly recommend if you have the Charlotte Observer go check 118 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,199 out the piece Republicans are finally leading again on teacher 119 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:38,000 pay in North Carolina. Andrew, I would be remiss if 120 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:42,120 I didn't ask you. Did you see the Washington Post 121 00:06:42,199 --> 00:06:46,560 article Trump vowed to help the North Carolina Mountains rebuild 122 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,519 after Helene frustration remain So, of course this article is 123 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:55,160 focused on Donald Trump and how he's failing western North Carolina. 124 00:06:55,199 --> 00:06:58,079 But I thought there was I thought there was something 125 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,839 pretty interesting in sort of about I don't know, a 126 00:07:01,879 --> 00:07:04,519 third of the way through the piece talking about how 127 00:07:04,879 --> 00:07:10,160 the former governor Roy Cooper never appointed a disaster recovery 128 00:07:10,319 --> 00:07:15,439 coordinator to take charge of communicating with federal agencies. And 129 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:20,439 this this was like shocking to the the disaster experts 130 00:07:20,839 --> 00:07:23,360 that were interviewed at the Washington Post, and I found 131 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,399 it odd that that did not get the top billing. 132 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 2: Will anybody care? 133 00:07:28,639 --> 00:07:32,199 Speaker 3: Yeah, I did see that article. Really remarkable article. 134 00:07:32,319 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: You know. 135 00:07:32,519 --> 00:07:35,879 Speaker 3: The number one thing that jumped out to me. You know, 136 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,720 people shouldn't have to tweet at Elon Musk to get 137 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:44,240 disaster relief. That seems pretty clear. But yeah, I mean, 138 00:07:44,279 --> 00:07:48,319 I think it's absolutely The lack of leadership is something 139 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,199 that I've been talking about for months. You know, the 140 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,439 failure in the Helene response wasn't just FEMA, it was 141 00:07:54,519 --> 00:07:59,639 North Carolina's own leadership or lack thereof. I do think 142 00:07:59,639 --> 00:08:01,920 it was a big miss for Cooper not to appoint 143 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,040 a recovery coordinator. I mean, one of the big things 144 00:08:05,079 --> 00:08:07,639 that you kept hearing from former Governor Cooper in his 145 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,000 press conferences was, oh, well, it's really complicated. There's a 146 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,079 lot of moving parts. You know, There's that you know, 147 00:08:13,079 --> 00:08:16,160 we were talking about how many missing people are there, 148 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:18,680 and he couldn't give an answer to how many missing 149 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:22,079 people there were, and he blamed, well, there's databases here 150 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,480 and databases there. I mean, that's exactly why you appoint 151 00:08:25,519 --> 00:08:29,439 a coordinator, is to solve things like that. But of course, 152 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,559 you know, having that coordinator doesn't solve all the problems. 153 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,120 You know, you see, you know, Governor Stein has appointed 154 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:40,320 a disaster response coordinator, Matt Calabria, but honestly, I haven't 155 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:42,679 heard a word from him since he's gotten appointed, so 156 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,440 I'm not sure exactly what he's doing or where all 157 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,759 that stands. But just having somebody's name out there doesn't 158 00:08:48,759 --> 00:08:51,080 solve all the problems, but at least at the first step. 159 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,799 Speaker 1: It is kind of amazing how much of a free 160 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:00,519 pass Roy Cooper has received on his inn aff effective 161 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:06,000 leadership when responding to natural disasters, whether it was Hurricane Matthew, 162 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,720 Hurricane Florence, or Helene, and even the pandemic, right, I mean, 163 00:09:10,799 --> 00:09:13,559 like all of these examples, and it just seems like 164 00:09:13,639 --> 00:09:16,799 he skates by. I'm sure you may have noticed something 165 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:22,120 along those lines as well when he was when he 166 00:09:22,159 --> 00:09:25,639 was governor and you were working with Dan Forrest. So 167 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,000 like I'm I'm still kind of perplexed as to why 168 00:09:30,039 --> 00:09:31,799 this doesn't get more attention. 169 00:09:33,799 --> 00:09:36,399 Speaker 3: Yeah, I am as well. I mean, and there's some 170 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,320 theories I have on why that is a lot of it, 171 00:09:40,399 --> 00:09:43,799 you know, especially in this context. You know, Helene hit 172 00:09:43,879 --> 00:09:46,840 at the end of September in a presidential election year, 173 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,440 and the media is not going to go after a 174 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:54,759 top Biden Harris surrogate a month before election time. I 175 00:09:54,759 --> 00:09:57,360 think we're starting to see the narrative change a little bit. 176 00:09:58,399 --> 00:10:00,600 I think is a huge issue for Cooper if he 177 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,320 actually does want to run for US Senate. I have 178 00:10:03,399 --> 00:10:06,720 a feeling that with you know, that amount of money 179 00:10:06,759 --> 00:10:10,080 coming into the race, you know, till Us or who 180 00:10:10,159 --> 00:10:11,960 you know it's going to be tillis most likely who 181 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,879 gets the Republican nomination is going to be able to 182 00:10:15,039 --> 00:10:19,000 effectively prosecute that case, because that's the other component of its. 183 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,600 Republicans in North Carolina just haven't had enough money to 184 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:26,240 really drive home that message, especially going up against the 185 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,240 Cooper machine with you know, unprecedented millions of dollars to 186 00:10:30,639 --> 00:10:31,679 run his own playbook. 187 00:10:32,639 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, Andrew Dunn, you could read his work at long 188 00:10:35,039 --> 00:10:39,720 Leaf Politics longleafpol dot com. Also, he's a contributing columnist 189 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:41,960 over at Charlotte observer Andrew, thanks to you so much 190 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:42,399 for your time. 191 00:10:42,399 --> 00:10:43,159 Speaker 2: I really appreciate it. 192 00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 3: Thank you. 193 00:10:44,759 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 1: Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to 194 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,960 a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina. 195 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:53,279 Just a quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of 196 00:10:53,279 --> 00:10:57,639 Ashville is your connection. Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, honeymoon, 197 00:10:57,679 --> 00:10:59,919 maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get 198 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,840 family and friends together for a big old reunion. Cabins 199 00:11:02,879 --> 00:11:05,639 of Asheville has the ideal spot for you where you 200 00:11:05,639 --> 00:11:08,240 can reconnect with your loved ones and the things that 201 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:12,080 truly matter. Nestled within the breath taking fourteen thousand acres 202 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,440 of the Pisga National Forest, their cabins offer a serene 203 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:18,279 escape in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centrally 204 00:11:18,279 --> 00:11:20,799 located between Ashville and the entrance of the Great Smoky 205 00:11:20,799 --> 00:11:24,679 Mountain National Park. It's the perfect balance of seclusion and 206 00:11:24,799 --> 00:11:29,039 proximity to all the local attractions with hot tubs, fireplaces, 207 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:33,279 air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi Fi grills, outdoor tables and 208 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:33,799 your own. 209 00:11:33,639 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 2: Private covered porch. 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I've got couple of messages here, 217 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,960 one from John who says Number One, in the future, 218 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,840 anytime you are going to be out without prior notice, 219 00:12:08,919 --> 00:12:11,480 you need to send me a personal email or text 220 00:12:11,519 --> 00:12:14,679 message at least one hour prior to the start of 221 00:12:14,759 --> 00:12:19,200 the show so I can be mentally prepared for your absence. John, 222 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:20,399 That's not going to happen. 223 00:12:20,879 --> 00:12:21,399 Speaker 2: Number two. 224 00:12:21,919 --> 00:12:26,399 Speaker 1: The Republicans have controlled the General Assembly now for fourteen years. 225 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,919 School teachers have not received a pay raise six years 226 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:33,279 or had not received a pay raise six years prior 227 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,480 to that, so any teacher pay raises in the last 228 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:41,000 twenty years have come from the Republican led General Assembly. 229 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:45,720 Yet the Democrat Teachers Union only protest Republicans over the pay. 230 00:12:46,039 --> 00:12:49,799 They never had their moral Monday marches on or anything 231 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,159 like that under the Democrats control. Even when Governor bev 232 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,440 perdue forced them to take the unpaid furlough. 233 00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, that always. 234 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, I focused a lot on that when I was 235 00:13:03,399 --> 00:13:06,559 up in working you know, up in Asheville at the 236 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:08,159 time when the Momo mo began. 237 00:13:08,799 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 2: And uh, there were a couple of reasons for it. 238 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,039 Speaker 1: You know, at the time, you had a hollowed out 239 00:13:14,159 --> 00:13:18,399 North Carolina Democrat Party didn't really have any leaders, they 240 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,600 had no figurehead. They had been just embroiled in multiple 241 00:13:22,639 --> 00:13:27,240 corruption scandals and illegal activities. A bunch of their people 242 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:31,240 got you know, charged with crimes and went to jail, 243 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:35,120 and so it was a it was a husk of 244 00:13:35,159 --> 00:13:35,679 a party. 245 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,559 Speaker 2: Uh. And in Walks Uh, you. 246 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: Know, Reverend William Barber and he he galvanizes these activists 247 00:13:47,159 --> 00:13:51,039 inside the Democrat Party, but also teachers. 248 00:13:51,759 --> 00:13:52,039 Speaker 2: Uh. 249 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: And that's why the the protest marches were so well 250 00:13:56,039 --> 00:14:00,600 attended at the beginning was because of the years of 251 00:14:02,639 --> 00:14:06,320 prior to Pat McCrory becoming governor, prior to the Republicans 252 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,639 taking over the legislature, you had Democrat control. And yes, 253 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,720 they furloughed teachers, they gave them, they froze their pay 254 00:14:13,919 --> 00:14:18,440 because they had you know, they had budgeted recklessly and 255 00:14:19,159 --> 00:14:22,639 they ended up with structural deficits and they couldn't afford 256 00:14:22,759 --> 00:14:25,799 to keep paying when the downturn came around, you know, 257 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:31,960 nine timeframe, and that's what ushered in the Republicans' victories 258 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:37,360 in twenty ten, and the teachers still hadn't gotten pay raises. 259 00:14:37,399 --> 00:14:42,960 But the Republican legislature was trying to fix these structural deficits, 260 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,120 and so the first thing they had to do was 261 00:14:45,159 --> 00:14:48,639 shore up the revenue. They had to you know, enact 262 00:14:48,799 --> 00:14:51,399 their tax reforms that they could, and they did it 263 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,000 over time, and people wanted it to move faster, and 264 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:59,159 Barber was able to motivate teachers to march on Raleigh, 265 00:14:59,559 --> 00:15:03,440 and as soon as the Republicans started doing teacher pay increases, 266 00:15:04,399 --> 00:15:09,720 the protests trickled down to very few numbers because they 267 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:13,320 didn't have all of the motivated teachers that were now attending. 268 00:15:13,559 --> 00:15:17,279 So that's where we were a decade ago. People new 269 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:20,120 to the state probably are unaware of that. You know, 270 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,720 stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, 271 00:15:22,759 --> 00:15:26,200 to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of 272 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,559 our past while transcending generations. They help us process the 273 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,039 meaning of life, and our stories are told through images 274 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,879 and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video, started in 275 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,799 nineteen ninety seven in Minhill, North Carolina. It was the 276 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,799 first company to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos 277 00:15:43,799 --> 00:15:48,039 and videos into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. 278 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,600 The trusted, talented and dedicated team at Creative Video will 279 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:53,679 go over all of the details with you to create 280 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,559 a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person 281 00:15:57,639 --> 00:15:59,399 or mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. 282 00:15:59,559 --> 00:16:04,840 Memorial videos for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, 283 00:16:04,919 --> 00:16:09,120 family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories, all told 284 00:16:09,159 --> 00:16:12,879 through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They 285 00:16:12,879 --> 00:16:15,720 are your life told through the eyes of everyone around 286 00:16:15,759 --> 00:16:18,039 you and all who came before you, and they will 287 00:16:18,039 --> 00:16:21,399 tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video 288 00:16:21,639 --> 00:16:25,600 dot com. I got a message on Twitter from Bubba 289 00:16:25,679 --> 00:16:29,360 who says it's a Pete tweet. He says, great conversation 290 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,320 about teachers pay. Did I miss the information about post 291 00:16:33,399 --> 00:16:37,879 graduate degree pay or no? When will this be looked at? 292 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,759 As of now, the only incentive is to become nationally 293 00:16:40,879 --> 00:16:41,919 bored certified. 294 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 2: Nothing though for masters degrees, so we did. 295 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, we talked about this last week when the bill 296 00:16:50,799 --> 00:16:56,879 first was filed. And you've got the the raising of 297 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,840 the teacher pay starting at five grand. This is free 298 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:04,720 ten month salary, so you know, five grand per month. 299 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,839 That's fifty thousand dollars for a ten month salary. That's 300 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:13,759 the first part. Licensed teachers who have the National Board 301 00:17:13,799 --> 00:17:19,119 certified standing they should they shall receive a salary supplement 302 00:17:19,279 --> 00:17:24,119 each month of twelve percent of their monthly salary, so 303 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:29,640 that's a twelve percent In addition, ad and then licensed 304 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:34,759 teachers who are classified as m masters I assume shall 305 00:17:34,799 --> 00:17:41,720 receive a salary supplement of ten percent of their monthly salary. 306 00:17:41,759 --> 00:17:44,000 And then it breaks down some of the numbers. 307 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:44,160 Speaker 2: Here. 308 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,519 Speaker 1: By the way, this is House Bill one ninety two, 309 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,440 and you can look it up on the legislature's website 310 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,960 and see led dot gov. 311 00:17:54,799 --> 00:17:56,599 Speaker 2: Again, that's House Bill one ninety two. 312 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: Now, Andrew Dunn, who we spoke with at the beginning 313 00:18:01,319 --> 00:18:05,519 of the hour, in this piece at the Charlotte Observer 314 00:18:05,839 --> 00:18:09,359 and well in the News and Observer, the McClatchy papers, 315 00:18:10,519 --> 00:18:14,759 he describes the bill as raising teacher paid a fifty 316 00:18:14,799 --> 00:18:17,960 thousand dollars that would be up from where the starting 317 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,079 pay currently is now that's forty one thousands, So this 318 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:25,839 is a nine thousand dollars increase in starting teacher pay. 319 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:31,680 And if I remember correctly, when they raised the rookie 320 00:18:31,759 --> 00:18:34,599 teacher pay, the probably about ten years ago. When they 321 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:39,480 did that, they were attacked. The Republicans were attacked for 322 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,960 only focusing on the new hires and we need to 323 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,119 focus on the veteran teachers. 324 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:45,720 Speaker 2: Right. 325 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 1: There was that attack, but then there was also this 326 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:59,079 this ignoring of how raising the base pay for the 327 00:18:59,799 --> 00:19:06,799 new hires creates creates more wealth in the long term 328 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:12,240 because you're now you're getting this large salary, and fifty 329 00:19:12,279 --> 00:19:15,519 thousand dollars a year is a large salary for somebody 330 00:19:15,519 --> 00:19:19,839 with no experience. Okay, right out of school. Fifty k 331 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,920 that's a good job. Right, that's a good salary, plus 332 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:30,119 you get the benefits. So there is also this compounding 333 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:35,000 effect that occurs over years, right, because fifty thousand this year, 334 00:19:35,759 --> 00:19:38,599 and then the next year you would go to fifty 335 00:19:38,759 --> 00:19:42,599 ninety one. Then the years of experience fifty one, eighty three, 336 00:19:42,759 --> 00:19:44,799 fifty two, seventy four, right, and so it just keeps 337 00:19:44,839 --> 00:19:46,039 on stacking on top. 338 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:47,519 Speaker 2: It's a one. 339 00:19:47,319 --> 00:19:51,160 Speaker 1: Point six billion dollar total plan, and it would put 340 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,559 North Carolina among the most competitive states in the country 341 00:19:54,599 --> 00:19:58,279 for new teachers. Even Democrats admit it would be a 342 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:02,240 strong move. Andrew Dunn says, will it be enough to 343 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:07,200 change the conversation? I me personally, I'm gonna say no. 344 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,319 Speaker 2: I'm gonna say no that now. 345 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: This issue is too important for Democrats to demagogue. So 346 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,759 I'm sure they will find you some argument to be 347 00:20:17,799 --> 00:20:21,160 made that it has to be even more. North Carolina 348 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,839 would leap frog states like New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut 349 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,079 to land among the top ten nationally and starting pay 350 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:30,640 and first in the Southeast by far. 351 00:20:31,079 --> 00:20:32,079 Speaker 2: That's a big deal. 352 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,079 Speaker 1: For recruitment, especially when twenty three percent of the state's 353 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:40,680 education graduates don't take teaching jobs in North Carolina within 354 00:20:40,759 --> 00:20:46,720 two years. So this is an interesting data point. I'm 355 00:20:46,759 --> 00:20:48,920 curious though, if that if some of that is due 356 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,880 to starting of families, right, do they not take Do 357 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:58,079 the new graduates not take jobs because they are having kids, right, 358 00:20:58,119 --> 00:20:59,960 and then they go to then they go into the 359 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,759 workforce later, or do they go back to their home 360 00:21:02,799 --> 00:21:05,559 states or do they go to a different state that's 361 00:21:05,559 --> 00:21:09,680 paying more. A lot of different data points inside of that. 362 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:14,440 The average starting salary for a UNC Chapel Hill graduate 363 00:21:14,559 --> 00:21:19,039 is fifty eight thousand dollars the average starting salary. But 364 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:24,319 if you look at he says, NC State Humanities majors, 365 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:29,559 they average forty seven thousand. An English major averages just 366 00:21:29,759 --> 00:21:36,759 thirty seven thousand. Right, So what's driving those average starting salaries? 367 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:42,559 I would guess it's probably your engineering, your science, technology, 368 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:49,200 engineering math. Right at ten years postgraduation, the average salary 369 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,240 for a UNC system graduate is sixty thousand dollars, while 370 00:21:53,279 --> 00:21:57,599 Liberal arts majors make about forty seven thousand dollars. So 371 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,200 under this plan, a teacher in a tip North Carolina 372 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:05,839 school district would also make sixty k after ten years, 373 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,880 which would be right in line with other professional careers. 374 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,039 So does this take the issue off the table? Republicans 375 00:22:15,039 --> 00:22:19,920 do this? And Andrew makes the argument that this will 376 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:24,440 break the cycle, This will break this cycle, that the 377 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,400 teacher pay debate has been stuck in this loop for 378 00:22:28,839 --> 00:22:33,359 a decade, and he thinks that this might do the trick. 379 00:22:33,599 --> 00:22:35,400 All right, if you're listening to this show, you know, 380 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:37,480 I try to keep up with all sorts of current events, 381 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:39,559 and I know you do too, and you've probably heard 382 00:22:39,559 --> 00:22:43,640 me say get your news from multiple sources. Why Well, 383 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,400 because it's how you detect media bias, which is why 384 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:49,640 I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app 385 00:22:49,839 --> 00:22:53,000 and it's a website and it combines news from around 386 00:22:53,039 --> 00:22:55,480 the world in one place so you can compare coverage 387 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,440 and verify information. You can check it out at check 388 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,880 dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link 389 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,039 in the podcast description too. I started using ground News 390 00:23:06,079 --> 00:23:08,759 a few months ago and more recently chose to work 391 00:23:08,799 --> 00:23:10,839 with them as an affiliate because it lets me see 392 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,720 clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind 393 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,519 spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the 394 00:23:17,599 --> 00:23:21,319 left and the right. See for yourself check dot ground, 395 00:23:21,519 --> 00:23:25,200 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 396 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,359 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 397 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,880 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 398 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,680 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 399 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,960 ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. 400 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:43,119 So Andrew Dunn, writing at The Charlotte Observer in his 401 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,279 op ed and look, I just want to point out here. 402 00:23:46,319 --> 00:23:50,200 We used to have Andrew on the show long before 403 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,000 he got all famous and. 404 00:23:53,599 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 2: Got his. 405 00:23:55,839 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 1: Op ed contributorship over at The Observer, and so we 406 00:23:59,839 --> 00:24:03,279 we love the fact that that he's writing, you know, 407 00:24:03,319 --> 00:24:05,960 and he's got a wider platform to do this on. 408 00:24:07,839 --> 00:24:10,559 But he's talking here about this, uh, this plan to 409 00:24:10,759 --> 00:24:13,680 raise teacher pay. And if you are new to the 410 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,839 state or you hadn't paid attention to what occurred in 411 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:21,039 North Carolina politics specifically when it comes to education ten 412 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:24,519 years ago, you know, you may think, and there are 413 00:24:24,559 --> 00:24:27,839 I encounter people all the time that they have no 414 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:33,000 idea the damage that the the Democrats had done when 415 00:24:33,039 --> 00:24:36,799 they were in charge because of the the way that 416 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,240 they budgeted and they kept on spending and spending and spending. 417 00:24:41,279 --> 00:24:45,160 They took one time money used it for ongoing operations 418 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,319 like for salaries and such, and then they ran out 419 00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:50,839 of money and they had to they had to furlough people, 420 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,480 They had to do a step pay raise freeze, so 421 00:24:55,599 --> 00:24:57,519 people that were supposed to get and they had them 422 00:24:57,559 --> 00:25:01,200 all set up in these weird per mutations where it 423 00:25:01,279 --> 00:25:04,200 was like, you know, your first year you get like 424 00:25:04,519 --> 00:25:07,599 a ten percent raise, and then year three another rays 425 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,119 of a smaller amount. Year four, another rays of a 426 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,640 higher amount than year seven. It's just like weird years 427 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,680 and then weird percentage bumps and stuff. So they had 428 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,240 all these different steps that were just kind of all 429 00:25:19,279 --> 00:25:25,000 over the place, and they froze those and it generated 430 00:25:25,039 --> 00:25:28,480 a lot of anger towards Democrats. Republicans came in. They 431 00:25:28,519 --> 00:25:33,839 cleaned up the the books, right. You also had the 432 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:38,720 problems with the Medicaid they had. They had to clean 433 00:25:38,759 --> 00:25:41,400 those books up. They had to clean up the unemployment 434 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,839 insurance books. We owed something like three billion dollars to 435 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:51,880 the federal government for unemployment insurance benefits that we were 436 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:53,359 paying out. We had the high we had like some 437 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:59,960 of the highest unemployment benefits in America. And then we 438 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:03,119 had to take loans from the federal government to keep 439 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,039 paying them out. And so Republicans came back, came in, 440 00:26:06,079 --> 00:26:10,559 and they slashed the rates, they paid back the debt, 441 00:26:10,599 --> 00:26:13,279 They got us debt free. So there was a lot 442 00:26:13,319 --> 00:26:15,680 to clean up after a century and a half of 443 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:20,039 Democrat control. And you know media and Democrats, but I 444 00:26:20,079 --> 00:26:24,920 repeat myself, they were not too patient, right. And meanwhile, 445 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:29,000 predicting all sorts of catastrophe would occur if the Republicans 446 00:26:29,039 --> 00:26:32,119 did their tax reforms and such. Of course, what we 447 00:26:32,559 --> 00:26:36,799 have now seen after a decade of or a decade 448 00:26:36,799 --> 00:26:42,240 and a half of Republicans in control in Raleigh, we 449 00:26:42,319 --> 00:26:46,960 have seen surpluses. We've seen the Rainy Day Fund funded, 450 00:26:48,279 --> 00:26:53,039 we have seen school vouchers funded, we've seen Medicaid expanded. 451 00:26:53,079 --> 00:26:57,119 Now and now they're talking about raising teachers, starting teacher 452 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:01,200 pay at fifty thousand dollars a year. And so what 453 00:27:01,279 --> 00:27:03,960 Andrew done then says, is that Democrats have a choice. 454 00:27:04,519 --> 00:27:08,559 They have spent years demanding higher teacher pay, and now 455 00:27:08,559 --> 00:27:12,240 that Republicans have put forward a real plan, can we 456 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:17,599 move on from debating how much is enough? North Carolina 457 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,359 can keep replaying the same tired teacher pay debate, or 458 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,400 finally build a system that rewards and retains great teachers. 459 00:27:25,759 --> 00:27:31,279 It's time to start making real progress. So here's my hope, 460 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:33,920 because this is you know what I have said whenever 461 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:36,200 we talk about teacher pay, I always say the same 462 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,880 thing that I think great teachers should get paid way 463 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,519 more money, but I refuse to pay the bad ones 464 00:27:42,559 --> 00:27:46,279 the same amount. And so if this is what it 465 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:51,640 takes now to get Democrats to move off of their 466 00:27:51,759 --> 00:27:54,720 opposition to a merit based type of a system. 467 00:27:54,759 --> 00:27:55,599 Speaker 2: You're going to say. 468 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,000 Speaker 1: Everybody gets fifty thousand dollars And I don't know where 469 00:27:58,000 --> 00:27:59,680 this is going either, by the way, so like this 470 00:27:59,759 --> 00:28:03,319 may not even bear fruit, but this would be the 471 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:06,400 time to do it right. I feel like, if you're 472 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:08,640 going to do this bill and you're going to raise 473 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,200 all of the teacher pay, then there needs to be 474 00:28:11,319 --> 00:28:14,839 some sort of a merit component into this. So this 475 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:18,279 way we don't end up having to pay the bad 476 00:28:18,319 --> 00:28:20,920 teachers the exact same amount as we're paying the great 477 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:25,519 teachers simply because they managed to not get fired. 478 00:28:25,599 --> 00:28:28,880 Speaker 2: Over the course of their career. All right, that'll do 479 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:30,079 it for this episode. 480 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:32,160 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening. I could not do 481 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,359 the show without your support and the support of the 482 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:37,440 businesses that advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, 483 00:28:37,599 --> 00:28:39,680 please support them too and tell them you heard it here. 484 00:28:39,839 --> 00:28:42,319 You can also become a patron at my Patreon page 485 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,039 or go to thepetecallanershow dot com. Again, thank you so 486 00:28:46,119 --> 00:28:53,680 much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.