As thousands of North Carolina teachers and public school supporters are planning to gather in downtown Raleigh Friday morning for a rally to push for more school funding by the state government, a pair shared their perspectives about why they feel the event is important.
The demonstration is set to be the first large-scale protest organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators since 2019, when teachers similarly gathered in Raleigh to call for more public school resources. Titled as “Kids Over Corporations,” the rally is timed as the state legislature is considering a budget nearly ten months behind. Lawmakers returned to Raleigh for a short session this month after last year’s budget negotiations between Republican House and Senate leaders broke down and never got repaired. But one shared element between the proposals is lower teacher pay and school funding than both education professionals and Democrats are asking for.
Max Harmon, a carpentry teacher at Jordan Matthews High School in Siler City, says he believes that is unacceptable. Harmon is an organizer for the Chatham County Association of Educators and served on the steering committee for the NCAE rally. He says the name of the rally references how the state government has focused more on giving more corporate income tax cuts to big businesses than funding public schools across the last decade. The result, he says, is an “existential moment” for North Carolina.
“Our legislators in this state, for over a decade, have literally been prioritizing corporate health over the health of our schools and the success of students,” Harmon says. “In terms of public school funding effort – which is to say the amount of money that the state provides to our schools relative to the size of our state’s economy – we’re dead last in the nation. And that should be a disgrace to everybody who cares about the future of North Carolina.”
It is not just teachers and staff who are set to march in Raleigh as plenty of public education supporters will be among the crowd, with different advocacy groups helping organize their own turnout. That includes Public School Strong Orange County, the local chapter of a statewide initiative whose mission is to build the collective strength of public school families.
Lynn Carswell – a coordinator for the local group and parent of Orange County Schools graduates – says broader participation in Friday’s rally helps take pressure off educators and show community willingness to invest in public ed systems.
“The message we want to give to the legislators is it’s not just teachers who are there to advocate for better pay,” she says. “It is families and community members – who are, by the way, voters – who find it unacceptable that a budget hasn’t been passed and so [teachers] haven’t received the raises they’re already entitled to.”
Without those raises, Harmon says public school teachers who want to stay in classrooms are having to look at new careers. Between the relatively low pay scale, the rising cost of living and increases in state health insurance costs, he says many school employees simply cannot afford to do the job. Meanwhile, Harmon believes the state is doing more and more to undermine public schools by dragging its feet on addressing those needs and putting more money toward vouchers to help private schools.
It has gotten to the point, the Jordan Matthews teacher says, where there is no excuse that the legislators are uninformed on the public schools’ circumstances – they are making an intentional choice to let them suffer. It creates a massive disconnect between the decision-makers and the state’s public school teachers who want to help all children get an education.
“We have leaders right now at the state level and the federal level,” Harmon says, “who do not believe that [fundamental idea] – who, I think, very explicitly believe only some families’ kids should get good educations. And the rest of us, because of a lack of money or resources, don’t actually fit in their version of America.
“And I think, basically on every level,” he continues, “it’s a reflection of prioritization of a few at the expense of many, and I think it runs entirely contrary to what we believe in in public education.”
A chart of the personal and corporate income tax rates in North Carolina, including projections out to 2030 if the Republican leadership’s budget proposal is adopted. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, these corporate tax cuts have caused the state to miss out on an estimated $18 billion in revenue since 2013. (Photo via the NC Budget & Tax Center.)
With teacher attendance for the NCAE rally expected to be in the thousands, nearly 20 of North Carolina’s school districts have changed their calendars and cancelled classes for Friday — including Orange County’s two districts. Carswell says she’s heard from some families who are supportive of the cause but upset at the inconvenience of their children being out of school for the day.
“It’s terrible that we’re in this situation,” she says. “But again, the inconvenience isn’t caused by teachers, administrators or school boards. It’s the legislators in Raleigh who are nearly a year late passing a budget, have blocked raises and worked to cut public school funding. They are the ones who made it come to this, where we have to stand up.”
And for people who believe the changes to public schools do not affect them? Carswell says they likely are already feeling or seeing impacts on other public services they might not realize are tied to school spending.
“Because when the state doesn’t meet its funding responsibilities,” she says, “counties have to cover a larger share of the cost of public education. This can mean higher property taxes, less money for other important community needs, and more cuts to schools that are already struggling. And good public schools are essential to our communities because families want to live and raise their children where schools are strong, and businesses want to be in places with educated workers and good schools.
“So, even if you’re not directly involved in the schools or have teachers you’re supporting,” Carswell concludes, “it’s in your best interest too – it’s in all of our best interest – to go and support the teachers [on Friday.]”
While the rally is framed as an attempt to push state legislators to reverse course, Harmon says he hopes it will spur all North Carolinians to commit to better supporting public schools. And that could start, he adds, with holding elected officials accountable.
“We actually believe that the supermajority of people in North Carolina value their kids’ future and education over corporate welfare and corporate bank accounts,” says Harmon. “We believe that this action is what’s necessary to drag this moral disgrace into the light of day so that North Carolinians can actually make informed choices. And that…if this [General Assembly] is unwilling to put our kids first, we can have a state leadership after November that actually reflects the priorities of people in this state.”
The NCAE is encouraging participants to begin gathering in the Halifax Mall around 10 a.m. on Friday, with speakers to begin at 11 a.m. Later, organizers plan to lead rally-goers in a march around the General Assembly, state capitol and North Carolina Department of Public Instruction buildings and a performance by North Carolina native rapper Petey Pablo will close out the proceedings.
Featured photo via the North Carolina Association of Educators.
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