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04/10/97 10:28 733 1065 NCACC ~003 State of North Carolina Of:riCe of the Governor For .v.,,. : MNLEDIATE Contact: Scan Walsh Date: Y~b~zO' 26, 1997 · . P:~one: (9t9) 733-56!: GOV. HLrNr~ BASNIGHT, BRUBA. KER SUPPORT EXCELLEi'¢I' SCHOOLS ACT RALEIGH In a display of bipartisan support for public schools, Oov. Jim Hunt, .,enate President Pro Tern Marc Basnight, and House Speaker Harold Brubaker stood together today in support of the Excellent Schools Act -- a comprehensive approach to raising teacher standards and pay. Bmbaker, the Republican leader of the House, and Basnight, head of the Democratic Senate, will co-sponsor the Governor's bill, underscoring the strong bipartisan support for raising academic and teacher rewarding teach~Z,s l'Sr performance and raising the average teacher salary to the nat.on,al average by the year 2000. The bill wilt be filed today in both chambers of the General Assembly, then introduced on Thursday. Hunt sent out a letter to all legislators this week urging them to sign onto the bill. "The Speaker, the Senate President Pro Tern and I stand together for excellent schools," Hunt said. "We stand together in om: dedication to putting children .first, and partisanship s*cond. We stm~ct together in our effort to get and keep the best t~achers in North Carol/na's classrooms. "I appreciate the strong bipartisan support and the leadership of Speaker Bmbaker aad Senate President Pro Tern Basnight," Hunt said. "I will work with them to see that this bill becomes law: and ! hope every leg/slator -- Democrat and Kepublican alike - will join us." Basnight said, "Today is the day we start showing teachers that we regard their job ~s one of the highest callLugs in North Carolina. I mn committed to investing in our children's education and in the people we have a~ked to make our schools excellent." Said Brubakcr, "Ii'we are serious about education reform, we must take the first step. This is a good tn'st step on the journey, a bipartisan journey, I hope, toward real reform." Now, one-third of North Carolina's teachers leave the profession w/thin the firs: five years because of Iow pay, safety concerns and lack of preparation for the classroom. Under the Excellent Schools Act, beginning teachers - would have to meet more rigorous standards and undergo more preparation before entering the classroom, and would get more help and training as entry-level teachers. At the same time, starting salary for teachers would go f~om $21,330 to $25,000 by the year 2000. : ~ ff~ce S~'.v .: · ~"-gh. N'C 27605-8001