Berger: Pay teachers differently

State Sen. Phil Berger thinks teachers should be paid differently.

Speaking at the North Carolina Chamber luncheon this afternoon, the Senate Republican leader said that teachers should be paid more for working in challenging environments or for taking jobs that school systems are having trouble filling, such as those in math, science and special education.

"More money, blindly spent, by adding to existing strategies is not the right answer in public education," he said.

He criticized Gov. Mike Easley's proposed budget for cutting a pilot program that used pay as an incentive to hire math and science teachers.

Berger also called for the state to make "a serious commitment" to career, vocational and technical education, saying that today's graduates are not skilled enough for jobs in automotive repair or other fields. 

He also called for reining in government spending in order to reduce taxes. 

"We've been growing government at rates that cannot be sustained," he said.