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School officials endorse plan to pay supplements to teachers

By Lynn Hotaling
To the cheers of some 25 teachers present, local school officials voted Monday (Jan. 24) to lend their support toward teacher supplements in Jackson County.

After a presentation by four educators, members of the Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of a local supplement for county teachers, teacher assistants, principals and assistant principals.

During discussion prior to the vote, board members expressed support for the idea of supplementing county teachers' salaries. Lack of funding is the reason supplements haven't already been implemented, they said.

"You do realize we don't have any money," said school board member Ray Trine. Rather than vote on the specific 5 percent proposed by teachers, board members, on the recommendation of Superintendent Frank Burrell, chose to endorse the idea of a supplement and then meet with teacher representatives to formulate a plan to present to county commissioners.

Jackson County is one of only nine school districts in North Carolina that doesn't pay its teachers a supplement, according to the teachers who spoke Jan. 24 - Smoky Mountain High's Ray Menze and Dee Grantham and Cullowhee Valley's Marsha Cameron and Marcia Kotila. Even though money is tight in the local school system, the four suggested that a teacher supplement is something school officials really can't afford not to do.

Paying teachers more would benefit the community, they said, by helping to attract business, increasing expendable income and promoting community pride. Supplements would benefit education by allowing the school system to attract and retain the best teachers, improve morale and maintain high test scores, they said.

Teacher supplements would also benefit students, according to the teachers, by giving them access to excellent teachers, reducing teacher turnover, helping students earn higher test scores and aiding local seniors in competing for spots at top colleges. Finance officer David Steinbicker estimated that such a supplement would cost the school system almost $96,000 for every 1 percent increase.

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