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Oh, who are we kidding here. The rules will be so stringent, no one will get to take those 10 hours.

Let's just call it what it is: a pay cut.

Of course not! Then they would have to pay for a sub! By the time they take all the state mandated work days and the district mandated workdays, there won't be ANY days that we can use them! So it will be even MORE time that we work for free!!! Jack up our insurance and make us work for free. . . that's what makes people want to teach in NC! yeah, right!

Look at the many, many thousands of taxpayer money spend on fluff like sports and band.
Cut those first before cutting the teachers' pay.

People elect the same 'ole junk over and over, now why would you expect anything different. Just like Guilford count, the state education system is a joke.

According to the federal government, most states require a 180-day school year. Kansas has the longest year with 186 days. Colorado has the shortest with 160 days. So here’s a thought.

In our school district, the last day of school is a half day. Wow. Do you think there’s a lot of academic learning going on during that half day of school? (I won’t argue that there is social learning happening!) Why not save the school bus fuel, cooling and lights energy, water usage and faculty/staff salaries and end our school year with 179 instructional days?

Okay, Okay – so then day number 179 turns into the “class party/awards recognition day.” So what? Ask any parent. The last few days of school are packed with busy worksheets, coloring sheets, games, movies, etc. . . . A.K.A. “time fillers” because the children (and maybe some of the teachers) are more focused on “summertime” than learning. (I’d HATE to be a teacher the last few days of school!)

Okay. Another “negative” to trimming this year’s school calendar to 179 days – the evil media spin. “NC doesn’t value education . . . cancels last day of school”. Big flipping deal. Who’s listening to these pundits anyway!

Would trimming the school calendar by one day take a piece of legislation or just an executive order?

What about the teachers and staff who are retiring or losing their jobs next year? There is only one more workday at the end of school and that would only be 8 hours anyway.

I agree with everyone on cutting out the EOG test. This is the biggest waste of money. My son is doing nothing in school now except prepping for the EOG's. He is an Honor student, but the pressure of these test just blows his mind and 9 times out of 10 he does bad on these test. He is in the 8th grade and this is one of those years that if doesn't pass the EOG they will hold him back even with his normal grades being A's and B's. But one way to save money with the school system putting so much focus on the EOG's is to cut encore classes in middle school. These classes do not mean anything, they are just prep classes for High School. We need to go back to the basic learning material. Reading, Math, English, Science, Social Studies, Health/PE. Go to a 4 day week, this would save money all around the system. Most companies are now on the 4 day system to save money. We are just blessed with a bunch of educated idiots in Guilford County and the State. North Carolina cannot get anymore backwards.

I thought the work days were important for the teachers to be prepared for the students. No you're thinking that the days don't matter much and you want to do away with them? I just believe that the State should balance the budget and move on. Taking from their employees paychecks is not where you do it. If you need the positions keep them, if you don't get rid of them. But don't steal from your employees.

Just wondering how many teachers voted for Perdue? 95%? 98%? 99%? 100%?

This is complete BS. The one's making this decision know that we (teachers) can't afford to take planning days off and get our required work done. We are told time and time again that we are on salary and are expected to come early and stay late in order to fulfill the requirements of our contract. Most of us don't have a problem with that. We tutor students before and after school without pay. We attend staff meetings, beyond the school day. We attend numerous student activities and functions without pay. We take work home. Many schools allow teachers to accumulate what is the equivalent of comp time for all the extra time we put in without pay. I alone lose over 40 hours of comp time a year that I can't use. What the hell does an extra 10 hours of time off mean to me.
And what a lot of people don't realize is that this school year, the state decided not to allow teachers to elect to be paid in 12 monthly installments. So, we have had to save all year for the summer months. My wife and I both teach so we are not going to receive $500 right before the summer begins.
Bev Perdue ran and was elected on the platform that she was in the teacher's corner. I am a conservative leaning Libertarian, and I voted for her. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. It won't happen again. I will do everything within my power to work against her reelection, and I know she has completely lost the confidence of every teacher that I have talked to about this situation. The teachers in this state will not forget.

Everyone is talking about teachers losing pay,let's don't forget about the people who work in the cafeteria, custodians, office workers, teacher assistants etc. These are the people who cannot afford to take any kind of pay cuts. In the next month most of these employees will have a reduction in pay and some are single parent households or have a spouse that's been laid off. I'm afraid this isn't the end, if Gov. Perdue is cutting salaries now, she may do it again. I'm sorry I voted for her..........

What happened to the NC Lottery Money? Our Lady Governor has taken it upon herself to use as SHE sees fit. My understanding that it was to be used for EDUCATION not for getting the state out of a hole.
The last 2 weeks of school to me is a BABYSITTER. I have 3 grown children,that graduated and know from past experience, they don't do anything worth while. Watching movies,coloring,etc can be done at home. Teachers are not baby-sitters! They(the teachers) have spent enough time with these kids to know if they are ready to move on to the next level, 2 weeks is not going to make or break any of these kids.
I know times have changed, but a lot of the learning starts at HOME. With a lot of parents being laid off their jobs,they need to step up to the plate and do their part,again these underpaid teachers are not BABYSITTERS!
We(the older generation) made it not having all the teacher workdays, Spring Break, and all the extra holidays they have now, and didn't start school until after LaborDay and were out by the last of May. And oh yea, we went to school on Saturdays if days were missed because of SNOW, none of us actually died from having to go on Saturday.
Lets get our priorities together and get THIS Governor out of office as soon as we can

I know I won't be popular, but instead of cutting teacher pay, why not look at the required 180 student days? In Michigan, they changed it from required days to required teaching hours. They start usually after labor day or at least late Aug. and are out by Memorial day or early June at the latest and the students get just as much instruction, just in less days. Think of the money that would be saved on lunches, school buses and power alone! Just a thought!

First of all, let's recognize that all educators are not Democrats. We may believe in public education, but we know better than to believe that every Democrat in office is truly going to support us...Perdue's furlough plan as case in point. Secondly, no truly dedicated salaried employee cares about hourly compensation. Thanks for the effort, but when will I use that time? Maybe on a snow day? Ha! Those don't generally come up until after January...and my time is to be used by December?!
Has the government considered forgiving the snow days? What about creating more early-release days (days before breaks, the last day of school...)?
And what is Guilford County going to do to cut its budget? I see my local supplement disappearing with the .5% of my salary...I certainly didn't come to teaching for the money, please help us protect the little that we do make.

I do not undestand why state employees are the ones responsible for balancing the budget becuase our wonderful elected officials can't manage our money. Why would anyone want to put the future of our children at risk? Let's take away free immunizations for our children and let them take their chances on not getting sick. I just don't understand