NCAE-East
The Website of NCAE Service Area "V"

NCAE: Principals’ and Assistant Principals’ Best Advocate

The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) has historically been the best advocate for all school-based employees, whether support personnel, teachers, or administrators. It was NCAE—or, its predecessors, the North Carolina Education Association and the North Carolina Teachers Association—that assured teachers and principals the basic benefits that are so often taken for granted, including:

• Health and retirement benefits. • Sick leave, annual leave.
• “Tenure” rights under the Fair Employment and Dismissal Act.
• Longevity pay on an equal par with state employees.
• The creation of the Principals Fellowship Program with stipend.
• The creation of the Principals Executive Program.
• The “linkage” between the teachers’ salary schedule and the school-based administrators’ schedule (1993-1994). Thus, when NCAE advocates for pushing the teacher salary schedule to national average and beyond, principals and assistant principals clearly benefit as well. No other organization—whether they claim to represent teachers or administrators—actively supports this concept. When the threat came in 1999 to break this “linkage”, NCAE successfully worked--alone--with legislative leaders to maintain it.
• An additional salary step for principals on the salary schedule for every three years of experience.
• The extension of the Safe Schools Bonus and ABC Bonus to assistant principals and principals. The bonuses became significant increases to school-based administrators’ salary schedules.

As recently as 2003, NCAE once again stood alone in advocating four-year contracts for principals after the initial two-year contract they received. Other groups purportedly representing school-based administrators opposed this concept.

In the General Assembly, NCAE has continued to fight for assistant principals and principals as well as for teachers and education support personnel. NCAE:

• Fought for the restoration of 89.5 Assistant Principal positions in the 2005 state budget.
• Sought to have school-based administrators included in the return to work retirement “exemption” that classroom teachers now enjoy.
• Fought for providing all school-based employees a 5% salary increase.
• Secured a 2% bonus for all school-based administrators at the top of their salary schedule.
• Successfully fought to maintain a state-paid health insurance premium for school employees.

The work continues. Currently, the Association is working with the Governor’s Office to maintain the “linkage” between teachers’ salaries and school-based administrators’ salary schedules.

When it comes to quality schools, NCAE knows what works best: quality support personnel, quality teachers, and quality school leaders.

The NCAE is also the administrator’s best advocate for legal services. NCAE is available to assist administrators if action or the threat of action is taken against them as employees. NCAE UniServ Director Maynard Hyler, in Selma, 1-800-650-8053, handle all administrator concerns. The Association also retains ten attorneys throughout the State of North Carolina who are experienced litigators and specialists in understanding the complex legalities affecting educational administrators. As an employee and member of NCAE, an administrator can access service through Robert Blackwell, the local UniServ Director, the UniServ Directors assigned to handle administrator concerns, or Claudia Williams, NCAE Manager, Field & Legal Services, in Raleigh, 800-662-7924. Please note that NCAE does not impose a cap on the number of hours of attorney assistance a member receives if a matter meets the legal services guidelines.

In addition to the aforementioned legal services, Association membership also provides, at no cost to the member, liability insurance coverage of up to $1,000,000 in legal costs for defending civil proceedings brought against an administrator in the course of educational employment activities. Also covered are attorney fees and other legal costs up to $35,000 for criminal issues, if the matter involves school discipline (corporal punishment), or if the member is exonerated; reimbursement up to $1,000 for bail bond; and payment up to $500 for damage to personal property when caused by an assault in the course of employment.

When administrators need professional advice, the North Carolina Association of Educators has the experience and resources to deal with their concerns.

You Need Us & We Need You!!!