North Carolina teachers will be seeing smaller bonuses this year than in previous years, after the State Board of Education agreed to cut incentive awards by about 30 percent.

The incentive awards are granted to teachers, teachers' assistants, and other certified employees on the basis of their schools' academic growth as measured by the state's ABCs of Public Education accountability model.

Traditionally, teachers at schools that exceed the state's expectations could expect a bonus up to $1,500. Teachers at schools meeting expected academic growth have been awarded $750.

This year's bonuses will be $1,053 for certified staff at high growth schools, and $527 for teachers at schools with expected growth.

Teachers' assistants at high growth schools will be awarded $351, rather than last year's $750. Assistants at expected growth schools will get a bonus of $263, rather than last year's $375.

The smaller bonuses are the result of a spending cap of $94.3 million for school bonuses imposed by the state legislature.

Howard Lee, chair of the State Board of Education, said the board was also restricted from diverting funds from other areas to teacher bonuses.

"The legislature just did not have enough money to meet all the needs this year," he said.

Lee said this is the first time the legislature has capped spending for bonuses, but that this has always been a possibility.

"We always said we would commit to pay up to a certain amount of money. There would be years when we probably couldn't pay that amount of money. There would be years when there would be so many people qualifying, we couldn't possibly pass out that amount of money across the board," Lee said.

"I think for the first time, we hit that wall, and the reality of that has set in."

Related Links

1. AYP Results Reported By School
2. AYP Subgroup Results