Conflicting timelines emerge as NC virtual school prepares to lay off 220 teachers this fall

Days after 220 North Carolina Virtual Public School teachers learned they would be laid off this fall semester, conflicting timelines are emerging about when school leaders and state education officials knew the layoffs would be necessary.

Posted 10:32 p.m. Aug 2, 2019 — Updated 10:32 p.m. Aug 2, 2019

Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief,

and

Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL education reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — Days after 220 North Carolina Virtual Public School teachers learned they would be laid off this fall semester, conflicting timelines are emerging about when school leaders and state education officials knew the layoffs would be necessary.

Teachers at the online school said they were shocked to learn the news this week that they will not be able to work the fall semester due a state law that requires they take a break in service each year. But a spokeswoman for the N.C. Office of State Human Resources said the online school could have told teachers about the potential layoffs in May but opted not to.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, which oversees the virtual school, disagreed with that timeline.

"NCVPS was not notified about the possibility of an immediate mandatory break in service for our teachers until July," Graham Wilson, a spokesman for State Superintendent Mark Johnson, told WRAL News.

"NCVPS was not told about a need for a break in service for our teachers in May," Wilson wrote. "In May, a Temporary Solutions employee requested documentation related to how health care eligibility was determined when NCVPS transitioned to Temporary Solutions in 2014."

The online school has used OSHR’s Temporary Solutions to process payroll for teachers since 2014.

Jill Warren Lucas, OSHR's communications director, stood by her agency's timeline.

"If there is an internal communications problem at DPI, the superintendent would have to address that," Lucas wrote.

On Friday, Johnson's staff members wrote to the North Carolina General Assembly's education leaders to suggest a possible solution to the issue.

"After speaking with legislative research staff, it appears that a short-term fix would be for NCVPS to be exempted from the 11 month requirement, as has been done for some other groups. For the long term, DPI will be working on other payment and employment options," DPI staff members wrote. "[We] would like to partner with you on a legislative amendment as soon as possible to address this urgent need."

In addition to impacting teachers’ workload and income being affected, the temporary layoffs would require canceling or reducing enrollment in half of NCVPS’s 150 courses this year, and an estimated 7,300 students would be unable to take advantage of the online school's courses this year, according to the state education agency.

Mark Jewell, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said his office has heard from many of the affected teachers. He is optimistic a solution can be reached.

“We have talked to the governor’s office and we understand they are working to resolve the issue quickly,” Jewell said. “What is not in dispute is that this situation was handled poorly, and teachers deserve better than being told they cannot work two weeks before the start of school.”

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