There may be trouble ahead for North Carolina's silly new anti-tenure law, with a judge yesterday giving two districts a reprieve in meeting one of the law's deadlines, thereby setting in motion the steps needed to get rid of the law altogether.  

Tenure rights have caused all sorts of problems over the years, making it possible for teachers to turn a right to due process into a long, drawn out and expensive series of hearings. The result is that districts don't even try to dismiss a teacher for anything less than a criminal or moral infraction.

But the answer is to fix tenure and dismissal laws, ensuring that teachers are entitled to a single fair hearing and no more, not the approach taken by the North Carolina legislature. Their tactic was insulting to teachers' intelligence, asking teachers to voluntarily give up their tenure rights in exchange for a meaningless payment of $2,000 paid out over four years. 

That got me thinking. What job benefit would I be willing to give up for $500?  Free cold sodas in the fridge? Nope. Friday's dress down day? Nope. My 'TSA Pre' status that allows me to show up at the airport 30 minutes before my flight? Never, not for a gazillion dollars.