For immediate release:
North Carolina has now gone over 130 days without a state budget. Our students need fully funded schools and our elected representatives need to deliver a budget to make it happen.
In response to the failure of our state legislature to fully fund our public schools and to meet even one of the five priority issues from our May 1st walk-out, the Guilford County Association of Educators and our fellow GCS employees, parents, and community supporters are taking next steps to hold elected officials accountable for resourcing the learning conditions our students deserve.
Adjusted for inflation and enrollment, public school funding in North Carolina is still less than it was a decade ago, and funding for classroom materials is still 42% below what it was 10 years ago. The current budget proposal under consideration hands out an additional $800 million in corporate tax cuts, on top of the $3.6 billion lawmakers have already handed out since 2013.
We cannot and will not stand idly by as our elected officials leave our students and staff in this budgetary lurch. We are called to act.
Events this week:
Mon, Nov 11, 8 pm. NC School Workers, Parents & Supporters RSVP to join a webinar Monday night to plan to take action with educators across the state: o2020.us/BudgetPrep19
Tues, Nov 12, 5 pm. Demonstration and press conference outside Guilford County Board of Education meeting announcing next steps in our fight to fully resource our public schools. We will call on elected officials to join us on picket lines happening around Guilford County on Wednesday morning to alert the wider public to our current funding crisis and call for the NC General Assembly to act when they reconvene on Nov 13th.
Wed, Nov 13, 6:30 am- 9:00 am. No less than 7 schools across GCS will host Red for Ed Walk-In Picket Lines prior to school on Wednesday morning. These will be similar to the one we did in High Point on Oct 2.
Current list (and growing) of schools participating in picket lines on Wednesday Nov 13:
Brightwood Elementary
Middle College at GTCC – Jamestown
Jamestown Middle
Union Hill Elementary
Ferndale Middle
High Point Central
Southeast Guilford Middle
Guilford County Association of Educators 