There’s a new bill making its way through the North Carolina Senate.

Dubbed “Turning TAs Into Teachers,” Senate Bill 447 would allow 10 more school districts to provide tuition assistance and academic leave in 2017-18 to teaching assistants looking to earn a college degree and become licensed teachers.

Beaufort County is not included in the list of 10, but some surrounding counties are. The list includes: Bertie County Schools; Duplin County Schools; Edenton-Chowan Schools; Edgecombe County Schools; Halifax County Schools; Nash-Rocky Mount Schools; Northampton County Schools; Tyrrell County Schools; Vance County Schools; and Washington County Schools.

The idea behind SB 447 is to boost low-performing schools by growing educators within the local school system. That in itself is not a bad idea and would mean a well-deserved opportunity for teaching assistants.

However, problems may arise when this program is put into practice.

If the program were to come to Beaufort County, it could have the adverse effect of pushing talented teaching assistants away to other counties to teach, as there is no room for them here. Beaufort County Schools is already looking at the possibility of cutting more personnel this year and has little funding to expand school buildings and classrooms to accommodate more teachers.

Educators who earn their teaching license could remain in an assistant position, but it’s not fair to expect them to do so.

It’s no secret that many classrooms in the area are in need of a second educator to give students a quality education, but the funds are not there to compensate two teachers. One teacher and a teaching assistant is sometimes even a stretch.

Talented teaching assistants deserve the opportunity to better themselves and move up in their career. However, participating counties need to take a long and hard look at how SB 447 could adversely affect rural counties that rely on teaching assistants. This is a factor legislators need to consider, as well.