A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds to increase the salaries of full‑time community college FACULTY AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Community Colleges System Office the sum of twenty‑five million seven hundred sixty‑five thousand six hundred three dollars ($25,765,603) for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year and the sum of fifty‑one million five hundred thirty‑one thousand two hundred seven dollars ($51,531,207) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to increase the salaries of full‑time community college faculty.
SECTION 1.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Community Colleges System Office the sum of nineteen million one hundred seventeen thousand six hundred seventy‑two dollars ($19,017,672) for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year and the sum of thirty‑eight million thirty‑five thousand three hundred forty‑four dollars ($38,035,344) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to increase the salaries of community college professional staff.
SECTION 2.  The minimum salaries for community college faculty shall be based on the following education levels:
(1)	Vocational Diploma/Certificate or Less. – This education level includes faculty members who are high school graduates, have vocational diplomas, or have completed one year of college.
(2)	Associate Degree or Equivalent. – This education level includes faculty members who have an associate degree or have completed two or more years of college but have no degree.
(3)	Bachelors Degree.
(4)	Masters Degree or Education Specialist.
(5)	Doctoral Degree.
SECTION 3.  For the 2007‑2008 and 2008‑2009 school years, the minimum salaries for nine‑month, full‑time, community college faculty shall be as follows:
	Education Level	Minimum Salary	Minimum Salary
		2007‑2008	2008‑2009
Vocational Diploma/Certificate or Less	$34,980	$38,565
Associate Degree or Equivalent	$35,495	$39,133
Bachelors Degree	$37,728	$41,595
Masters Degree or Education Specialist	$39,708	$43,778
Doctoral Degree	$42,564	$46,927
No full‑time faculty member shall earn less than the minimum salary for his or her education level.
The pro rata hourly rate of the minimum salary for each education level shall be used to determine the minimum salary for part‑time faculty members.
SECTION 4.
(1)	It is the intent of the General Assembly to encourage community colleges to make faculty salaries a priority and to reward colleges that have taken steps to achieve the national average, therefore:
a.	If the average faculty salary at a community college is one hundred percent (100%) or more of the national average community college faculty salary, the college may transfer up to eight percent (8%) of the State funds allocated to it for faculty salaries.
b.	If the average faculty salary at a community college is at least ninety‑five percent (95%) but less than one hundred percent (100%) of the national average community college faculty salary, the college may transfer up to six percent (6%) of the State funds allocated to it for faculty salaries.
c.	If the average faculty salary at a community college is at least ninety percent (90%) but less than ninety‑five percent (95%) of the national average community college faculty salary, the college may transfer up to five percent (5%) of the State funds allocated to it for faculty salaries.
d.	If the average faculty salary at a community college is at least eighty‑five percent (85%) but less than ninety percent (90%) of the national average community college faculty salary, the college may transfer up to three percent (3%) of the State funds allocated to it for faculty salaries.
e.	If the average faculty salary at a community college is eighty‑five percent (85%) or less of the national average community college faculty salary, the college may transfer up to two percent (2%) of the State funds allocated to it for faculty salaries.
Except as provided by subdivision (2) of this section, a community college shall not transfer a greater percentage of the State funds allocated to it for faculty salaries than is authorized by this section.
(2)	With the approval of the State Board of Community Colleges, a community college at which the average faculty salary is eighty‑five percent (85%) or less of the national average may transfer a greater percentage of the State funds allocated to it for faculty salaries than is authorized by sub‑subdivision e. of subdivision (1) of this section. The State Board shall approve the transfer only for purposes that directly affect student services.
(3)	A local community college may use all State funds allocated to it except for Literacy Funds and Funds for New and Expanding Industry Training to increase faculty salaries.
SECTION 5.  As used in this act:
(1)	"Average faculty salary at a community college" means the total nine‑month salary from all sources of all nine‑month, full‑time faculty at the college, as determined by the North Carolina Community College System on October 1 of each year.
(2)	"National average community college faculty salary" means the nine‑month, full‑time, curriculum salary average, as published by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), for the most recent year for which data are available.
SECTION 6.  The State Board of Community Colleges shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this act.
SECTION 7.  The State Board of Community Colleges shall report to the appropriations subcommittees on education, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Office of State Budget and Management by December 1, 2007, and every year thereafter through December 1, 2009, on the implementation of this act.
SECTION 8.  Funds appropriated in this act for salary increases shall be used to increase faculty and professional staff salaries. Colleges may provide additional increases from funds available.
The State Board of Community Colleges shall adopt rules to ensure that these funds are used only to move faculty and professional staff to the respective national averages. These funds shall not be transferred by the State Board or used for any other budget purpose by the community colleges.
SECTION 9.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.