Special session called today

Gov. Mike Easley's veto of a bill that could help alleviate the teacher shortage in the state likely will stand, even as the N.C. General Assembly returns today for a special session.

House members will discuss the bill at 10 a.m. Wednesday, but will not attempt to override the veto, said House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, and Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, in a press release.

Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange, said the vetoed bill will be moved to the House Rules Committee, and a motion probably will be made to adjourn until the May short session, allowing time for officials to work on a definite plan.

House bill 706 proposed providing out-of-state teachers with an easier way to get a N.C. teaching license, which would enable them to be hired by state school boards.

The bill would allow teachers with three or more years experience to get a permanent license in their first year of teaching in North Carolina if they meet the "highly qualified" definition under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

This would help teachers to be hired immediately, said Cecil Banks, manager of government relations for the N.C. Association of Educators.

Easley vetoed the bill on Sept. 29, stating in a press release, "This bill reduces the North Carolina teaching standards to the lowest in America. It cheats our children out of a quality education and dishonestly classifies unqualified teachers as 'highly qualified.'"

Black and Basnight said in the release that they look forward to working with the governor and the N.C. Board of Education to address the growing teacher shortage.

Tony Caravano, spokesman for Basnight, said the senate will hold only a skeleton session today.

Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, said the decision to hold an abbreviated session makes sense because the bill will not be passed onto the Senate for a vote today.

She said the House still could override the veto during the May session, if progress on a compromise is not made.

"I am optimistic that we will be able to find an agreement with the governor," Insko said.

But Easley's veto and the slow process in getting the bill passed has angered some legislators.

"I am disappointed with a governor that is more concerned with his own political agenda than he is with the education of our children," said Sen. Hugh Webster, R-Alamance. "That is a sad state of affairs."

Webster said Tuesday morning he was hoping legislators would override the veto.

Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, and Faison said legislators instead will try to reach a compromise on teacher standards and licensing.

While the bill is focused on ending teacher shortages by opening a door for out-of-state teachers, Insko said this alone would not solve the problem.

"The licensure issue is only one leg of the issues," she said. "We need to raise salaries. We need to find out why we aren't retaining teachers."

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.