North Carolina principals asked state lawmakers Monday to revise the state’s pay plan. Two representatives of the state principals’ association said the current plan ties too much money to growth in test scores and doesn’t reward principals for leading the most challenging schools.
North Carolina boosted principal pay six years ago, and the principals told the House Select Committee on Education Reform that they’re grateful. But they said the plan needs “tweaks” this year to help keep the best principals from seeking other jobs.
Strong principals are generally viewed as a key to recruiting and keeping effective teachers. One of the best hopes for improving student results is having a principal and faculty who are skilled at meeting the students’ needs and who stick around long enough to make a difference — something that often proves challenging at high-poverty schools.
Currently principals at bigger schools get higher pay. The state’s base salary for leading a school with fewer than 200 students is about $75,500, rising to $94,400 for schools with more than 1,600 students.
Complex schools are tougher to lead
Ashley Faulkenberry, a Craven County elementary school principal, said the pay tiers should also factor in such things as how many students are impoverished or homeless, are learning English or have disabilities.
“More complex schools equals high stress, higher burnout, more turnover and less stability for schools,” she said. “Simply put, more complex schools are more difficult to lead.”
Faulkenberry, a finalist for North Carolina’s 2024 Principal of the Year, said her school has about 400 students, all of whom are considered economically disadvantaged. The school includes 120 students who are learning English. “They also fall under the refugee demographic,” she said. “We have 27 different birth nations at my school and 16 different languages. … A lot of those are dialects that you cannot get on Google Translate.”
The principals’ proposal would incorporate enrollment but provide additional weight for students with added challenges. The lowest “complexity tier” would start at $82,650 and the highest would start at about $105,500.
Less money tied to test scores
Some of the increase in base salaries would be offset by a reduction in the additional pay that’s tied to growth in student test scores, as calculated by EVAAS ratings. Principals get an additional 10% if they meet growth targets and 20% for exceeding the target. The principals’ plan calls for reducing that to 5% and 10%.
John Lassiter, principal of a Perquimans County grammar school, said the principals’ group supports performance pay, but “at the highest salary level, some principals could lose up to $18,000 in a year if their student growth falters, sometimes based on conditions that are out of their control.”
The growth ratings are supposed to recognize strong progress regardless of where students start the year, a measure that’s less tied to demographics than proficiency. But Lassiter and Faulkenberry presented data showing that principals at low-poverty schools are more likely to hit the levels that qualify for bonus pay.
That, they said, encourages principals at the schools with the biggest challenges to transfer to central offices or schools serving more affluent families.
Keeping principals on the job
The principals’ proposal also adds “retention pay” ranging from $2,000 to $6,000 a year for principals who stay in the job for five years or more.
Faulkenberry said the plan “recognizes that schools face different complexity factors. And, in our opinion, it prioritizes keeping great principals in the field longer and in their schools.”
Rep. Brian Biggs, a Randolph County Republican who co-chairs the education reform panel, said he’s intrigued: “We’ve got to look at this, because a lot of principals that are in tough situations are superstars, but they’re not getting paid like they’re superstars because of the situation that they’re put in.”
But Rep. Hugh Blackwell, a Burke County Republican, said he’s not sold on reducing the rewards for test-score growth. “It seems to me it just simply gives you higher pay for having a tough situation but doesn’t necessarily mean you’re effective in that role,” he said.
Committee Co-Chair John Torbett of Gaston County said he has asked staff to calculate the cost of the proposal.
The House Select Committee on Education Reform is scheduled to hold its final meeting later this month. That’s when the panel expects to vote on recommendations to the General Assembly for the 2024 short session.
