Bigger bonuses on the way for Charlotte teachers, school employees
Facing a staffing shortfall in classrooms and in other district roles, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders this week approved doubling incentive pay to help retain employees.
CMS annually sees hundreds of departures, but data from the opening months of this school year show a significant increase in teachers quitting — many because of job dissatisfaction or finding a new job that pays better.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators applauded the school board’s decision to increase bonuses on Tuesday night.
It means the previously-approved bonus of $2,500 iwill increase to $5,000 for eligible full-time staff. For eligible part-time staff the bonus will be $2,500, up from $1,250. The increased bonuses are expected to cost the district about $49 million, paid by federal American Rescue Plan funding.
“We want to say thank you and celebrate this win while uplifting how this bonus will support improving student outcomes through retaining and sustaining the best educators in Mecklenburg County,” said Amanda Thompson-Rice, the CMAE president.
“Every child needs and deserves highly-qualified educators in front of their classrooms, driving their buses, supporting in the front offices, leading in schools, etc.”
Thompson-Rice said the increased bonuses will help “keep the thousands of hardworking educators that stayed through the challenges and pressures of the pandemic.”
The district employees about 19,000 people, including 9,000 teachers.
Christine Pejot, chief human resources officer, told the Observer in December that CMS has experienced increased levels of attrition and challenges with recruiting new employees since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CMS has addressed the issues through increases in pay and new initiatives, including expanding the Guest Teacher Program and adding a new instructional substitute performance bonus to help attract more workers.
CMS has also raised the starting wage for bus drivers from $15.75 an hour to $17.75.
Leaving for other jobs
Employee departures across jobs in the district have increased since last school year, according to CMS data. For example, from Aug. 1-Dec. 8, 2021, there were 1,577 employee separations. There were 1,053 in the same time period in 2020.
Since Aug. 1, 2021, 705 teachers have quit, according to the most recent CMS data, compared to 405 for the same time period in 2020.
According to CMS, 8.1% of teachers left because of job dissatisfaction and 6.5% resigned because of health reasons. For 2021, CMS reported 3.7% of teachers and 6.1% of all staff left to pursue better pay.
For teachers specifically, 15.7% cited the reason for leaving was to teach in another North Carolina school district; 10.8% left because of family responsibilities; and 10.2% left because the family was being relocated.
During the same time period in 2020, 12.6% of teachers left to teach in another district.
“We value our staff. We want them to stay,” school board member Carol Sawyer said. “We know they have options. While this bonus ... is wonderful, we need to encourage our partners at the state and the county to make meaningful increases in our employee salaries. We have to be able to compete with fast food management and right now we can’t.”
In December when the board voted for the original incentives, CMAE Vice President Rae LeGrone said the bonuses were not about appreciation.
“It’s about retention in a competitive job market,” LeGrone said. “This will ensure we have dedicated employees in every school building and worksite to support our students’ outcomes.”
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 11:27 AM.
