Preliminary DPI Personnel Data Shows Increase in State-Supported Education Personnel
Preliminary public school personnel data from the Department of Public Instruction shows that the number of state-supported public education personnel increased by 4,720 over the previous year.
(Preliminary-DPI-School-Personnel-Data-2012)
The data stands in stark contrast to Gov. Beverly Perdue’s claims Republican state budget cuts have resulted in larger class sizes, and the loss of thousands of teacher and teacher assistant positions.
Upon reviewing the DPI raw data, one must wonder on what data Perdue is basing her claims.
The gains in state-funded education personnel were offset by significant losses at the federal (7,330) and local (2,077) levels. Most North Carolina public education employees are funded by state funds, but several thousand others are funded with federal or local financial support.
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Change in Public School Employees by Funding Source, 2011-2012 |
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| Change over Previous Year | Percentage Change Over Previous Year | |
| State Education Employees | +4720 | +3.7% |
| Federal Education Employees | -7,330 | -28% |
| Local Education Employees | -2,077 | -7.3% |
| All Education Employees | -4,687 | -2.6% |
Gov Perdue has been highly critical of Republican budget policies. She has declared on numerous occasions that state budget policies have resulted in the loss of thousands of teacher jobs.
But according to the DPI data, the number of state-funded teachers in North Carolina increased by 2,155.
Regarding the overall public education numbers, full-time personnel data for 2011-12 found 4,687 education jobs were lost in 2011-12, a decline of 2.6 percent from the previous year.
No doubt the federal and local funded education staff reductions are traceable in part to the end of federal stimulus funding directed toward education, as well as decisions by local officials not to continue funding positions or programs. According to the DPI data, reductions in federal and local funding — not the state budget — are the major factors driving job losses in education.
If Perdue is to be critical of budgetary cutbacks to public education personnel, the DPI data suggests she should direct her comments toward local education agencies and Washington D.C.
The data used in this article and available in the attached spreadsheet was obtained from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) via a public records request. It cannot be overemphasized that the data is preliminary and has not been validated by DPI. If DPI staff learns that data was submitted incorrectly, changes would be made in the final personnel counts. It is our understanding that DPI expects to release the final figures within the next week or so.
While this data may not be perfect, it is the best available data on teacher and staff job counts. The data is reported by Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and submitted to DPI for review. That it shows the Governor’s claims to be largely inaccurate is a conclusion that is hard to ignore. It also makes one question the validity of the Governor’s jobs claims, as the only currently available data contradicts her comments.
Access Public School Personnel Changes by LEA at: Preliminary-DPI-School-Personnel-Data-2012
Great info, which is entirely different from what our local Board of Ed. has been saying and telling the local press. Please send the final numbers as soon as they are available.
Doug Harris
Carteret County Commissioner
http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2012/01/24/attempting-to-have-it-both-ways/
Hold up! Slow Down! Please explain to me why you are trying to convince the world that Public Education in NC in not in it’s worse crisis since at least the time I have been teaching…..15 years. It’s so easy to sit back, crunch some numbers, blast your big smile on this website and try to convince everyone that all the Teachers in NC are just imagining the cuts in their fellow colleagues, assistants, raises, and higher health care cost. Your so-called informational chart states no decrease in media personnel for my school district and every school has lost their assistant and now has to restock books instead of teach. You have alot of nerve digging these trenches without any intentions of stepping into them. Our county is starting to look for a new superintendent and we were given a survey of what traits we would like to see in this person. I am confident a high number will say a successful superintendent and school board members will be willing to spend one full day a month following and helping one teacher. I would advise all of you to do the same thing…practice what you preach…..come on down into the trenches…pick a county….any county….make your own “numbers” chart….see where the cuts are. And about our so-called raises….I’m sure we could gather up 10-15 mailbags full of the past 3 years pay stubs from teachers in our county….send them to you so you could see with your own eyes…..no change in the numbers there only higher insurance premiums. So common guys…stop peddling around someone elses numbers and come up with your own….come see it yourself…be a part of our world for a day….I assure you you won’t be telling us how good we have it…..you will be ashamed of yourself for looking at numbers someone you don’t even know came up with, someone who probably hasn’t stepped inside a classroom ever or for at least 2 decades. It’s time to get with the real program.
Sincerely,
Laughing at “I know what it looks like-even though I’ve never seen one” Guys
@DianaR. Not sure what you are trying to say. I think you say you are a school teacher but I really can not believe this considering your atrocious writing style.
…and you’re teaching our kids?
Diana,
It seems you have missed the point…Our state government has INCREASED funding for public education. If they hadn’t, the cuts would have been much worse. It is our FEDERAL government, and in some cases local governments, that have reduced funding, resulting in lost jobs and resources.