This is a goof that will affect teachers in their wallets.

The State Board of Education changed the ABC status of seven schools today, including the Wake Early College of Health and Sciences in Raleigh. They said they had made a calculation error in determining the growth scores at those schools.

In the case of Wake Early College, it means they wrongly listed the school before as reaching high growth on state tests. It now means they only met expected growth. This means teachers are only entitled to bonus checks of $750, not the $1,500 they got within the past week.

State officials say they legally have to take the money back from those teachers.

Some schools are actually going to gain bonus money.

UPDATE
Click here for the online story.

The state is now saying that in the case of five of the seven schools, they're clearly at fault. But in Wake's case, they say the district didn't provide some test scores when the data was first run. Once the data was added, it lowered the school's performance. But they're also saying DPI does bear some blame for having called it a high-growth school in the first place.

11/01/07 at 12:01
And who is going to be fired at the State Board of Education for this FUBAR?

11/01/07 at 12:21
Now here is a good use for the oft discussed multi-million dollar slush fund. Sure, the state has to get its money back, but WCPSS should give it to them and let those teachers keep it. Kind of like handing them the Community Chest 'Bank Error in Your Favor' card.

There are 16 people listed as staff for WECH&S. If all of them got the $750 bonus, that would be $12,000 dollars out of the 'reserve account'. That is a bunch of places to the right of the decimal point in terms of a percent of the account. Tiny impact on the account, but I bet it would mean a lot the people at the school.

11/01/07 at 12:51
Very good point Rich. I for one would have no problem with the WPCSS using the "Slushy" fund for this. Beside, the WCPSS already treats our tax dollars like monopoly money already.

11/01/07 at 13:19
That's a nice thought, but then what about the teachers at the other schools who didn't get the $1500? It stinks for the teachers who mistakenly got the extra money and its definitely wrong that it happened in the first place, but it would create problems. Why should they get to keep the bonus that they didn't earn while others who had the same performance don't get it?

Just offering another viewpoint.

11/01/07 at 13:26
Jenn,
I don't see why it would create problems. If other teachers got the money in error and had to have it taken back, they would be eligible. It isn't like this is saying that they get it without earning it, it is saying that just because NC DPI cannot do math properly, we feel like removing the reward after it has been given is unfair.

11/01/07 at 13:55
I agree the slush fund is designed for situations such as these.

Regardless of whether the teachers get to keep the money, the person who made this mistake should receive a reprimand in his/her file, and be docked the pay that covers the cost of this mistake to restore the lost funds.

11/01/07 at 14:37
Actually this amount of money is a small amount of the INTEREST of the slush fund.

Was it a person who made the mistake or will a computer glitch be blamed?

11/01/07 at 14:42
they can't forecast growth and they can't measure performance accurately. Break it up into smaller districts. Dr. Cris

11/01/07 at 15:08
Dr. Cris,
Nowhere did I see it claimed that WCPSS made the mistake. This has nothing to do with the size of the district. It was a mistake made at the state level, based on the report.

Mark

11/01/07 at 15:31
I have to agree with Jenn on this one. Just because I'm a teacher and I didn't get the Community Chest Card I don't an extra cash? Kind of like saying 'Oops the government gave me too much of a refund so keep it'. Yes someone should be help accountable but to randomly use the money out of the reserves is ridiculous.

11/01/07 at 15:32
God help us all if you ever make a mistake at your job.

11/01/07 at 15:40
Julie,
It isn't random use, it is saying that the mistake by the DPI isn't going to affect the teachers in WCPSS. You know, kind of like when a company posts the wrong price but decides to honor it anyway when you show up at the store, ad in hand. It is not like teachers feel so appreciated that it would go unnoticed. Really, I think the majority of teachers would be happy to see that the county administration would be willing to stand up for them when the state makes a mistake.

Having been a teacher, the ones I met wouldn't be so petty as to think that it is unfair and that they would be entitled to more money. Of course, a sub-fractional percent of the slush fund being kept around is far more important than actually showing those in the classroom that the central office can more than handout mandates and reprimands.

If you understood for one second what kind of image crisis this school system has with both parents and teachers, you would see that not spending a tiny portion of the reserve in this way is ridiculous.

11/01/07 at 16:09
Really ironic that these folks apparently didn't take the time to "check their work." School 101.

11/01/07 at 17:00
I guess none of you ever received an "over payment" or "under payment" from the IRS. They don't play very nice, trust me on that.

11/01/07 at 17:04
Mary Beth --

I'm curious why the state thinks itself competent to teach others how to do basic math when it can't do so itself. I wonder if they're hiring their own graduates.

Julie --

The problem is one of reliance. Some of these teachers probably changed their position when they received the bonus check. What do you say to the teacher who received her $750 check and then spent it on getting the A/C in her car fixed or even bought a new TV?

11/01/07 at 17:11
Ruckus --

Taxes are different. You're expected to know what taxes you owe and how much you paid. If you don't pay correctly, it's your own fault.

11/01/07 at 17:21
How many schools are there in NC which qualify for the ABC bonus program? By my count, there are 8 schools affected in the state.

Interesting to me how this story is about an error by the State of NC, but already, the usual crowd is already pointing fingers and arguing about WCPSS being responsible...

11/01/07 at 17:34
WCPSS isn't responsible, but they have the opportunity to make it so those that are don't impact our teachers. Again $12,000 is pennies.

11/01/07 at 19:46
And if I was a teacher who wasn't getting the extra money, I'd be mad, so in that case give all teachers the extra $750. Our comparison to the IRS is much more accurate then your attempt at an incorrect price on merchandise.

CF couldn't have said it any better. You took a state issue and spun it to critique the WCPSS. I thought it would take longer then it did - only 3 posts.

11/01/07 at 21:14
Julie states that we jump on the WCPSS too quickly----

"CF couldn't have said it any better. You took a state issue and spun it to critique the WCPSS. I thought it would take longer then it did - only 3 posts. "


Soon after Keung posts an update from DPI-----

"The state is now saying that in the case of five of the seven schools, they're clearly at fault. But in Wake's case, they say the district didn't provide some test scores when the data was first run. Once the data was added, it lowered the school's performance. But they're also saying DPI does bear some blame for having called it a high-growth school in the first place."

So now I guess DPI is one of us.....blaming WCPSS for what they do.

11/01/07 at 21:14
Julie,

And if I was a teacher who wasn't getting the extra money, I'd be mad, so in that case give all teachers the extra $750.

Thankfully, the teachers I have known aren't as pedantic as you.

That you hold up the IRS as the model for how our schools should handle our teachers is very telling. Clearly you demonstrate once again that you have absolutely no idea what the system faces. Retention is a problem and your attitude is no small part of why.

And, oddly enough, it appears that WCPSS was at partly fault. Not that it matters, because I don't have to change my stance on it. Funny how that happens when you start with what is right.

11/01/07 at 21:15
Julie, You are absolutely right! 100%!
Give all of the teachers $750. They deserve way more than what they get!

11/01/07 at 21:29
Not only should they all get the $750, they should be able to split Del Burns' raise throughout as well. And what about Chuck's salary as he got the numbers so wrong, I don't see anybody talking about taking HIS money back,do you?

11/01/07 at 21:46
Remember the fiasco a few years ago when someone set the range for the math scores too low? Almost every single middle school student passed with high marks. The next year a story was released to the media that stated that NC had the greatest gains in 8th grade math of any state in the US. The woman I watched that night (I think it was on channel 5) said that DPI wanted to make sure everyone knew that this did not include the "bad" scores from the previous year. Funny, I taught 8th grade that year and that was the ONLY test we gave. Also funny, the news cast gave no indication what test scores were actually used to come to the conclusion.

The education system is broken and it needs to get fixed.

11/01/07 at 22:21
They probably used Trailblazers to calculate the performance :)

11/02/07 at 15:58
WCPSS was at fault in part for not submitting complete data. Dr. Cris