CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Paid time off is something many people expect to come with a job, but in North Carolina, some teachers are paying to have their shifts covered.
It’s a long-standing state statute, and it's only happening in a few other states in the country. But Governor Roy Cooper doesn't want to be on that list anymore, so he's proposing in his budget that deduction be removed.
Believe it or not, when a teacher uses a personal day, they must pay $50 out of their own pocket.
"It's completely unfair. It’s an archaic piece of legislation," said Mark Jewell, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE).
In addition to sick days and paid time off, teachers get two personal days a year. But when they use them, they have to cover the cost of the substitute teaching their class that day, $50 a day.
Those with NCAE said it’s time for a change.
"Clearly, it’s a lack of respect for the profession. We as hard-working educators that don't make a great deal of money anyway and need to be off shouldn't worry about losing money," said Jewell.
Governor Cooper agreed, announcing he wants to eliminate that $50 deduction from a teacher's paycheck in his compromise budget.
"We need to lift the level of respect for our educators up," Cooper said when he was in Charlotte last week.
The $100 a year won’t break the bank for all teachers, but they said getting rid of it is common sense.
"It doesn't cost very much for the state in a time when we have a huge teacher shortage in North Carolina, salaries have been flat-lined, this is an investment to show that we respect you as a professional,” said Jewell.
Teachers across the state even paid that $100 last year to go and protest this in Raleigh.
Because this is a state policy, a representative for CMS said they had no comment.