A preview of the fall election

by | May 15, 2018 | 2018 elections, Editor's Blog, Education | 6 comments

The rally in Raleigh tomorrow may be a preview to the general election campaign this fall. Both sides are trying to shape public perception of the protest and score political points. And both sides have dramatically different interpretations of the event.

Republicans are trying desperately to make the rally tomorrow just about teacher pay and they’re trying to brand it as a teacher walkout. They’re betting that more people think teachers get enough money already and that, in an historically anti-union state like North Carolina, people will resent teachers leaving the classroom for a protest in Raleigh. They’ve put up a website touting their raises, complete with charts, news articles and opinion pieces.

Democrats want to make the fall election about funding for education in general with teacher pay being a part of that narrative. Since taking control of the legislature, the GOP has reshaped the state’s public education system. They’ve lifted the cap on charter schools and subsidized private schools through a voucher program. At the same time, they’ve reduced per pupil spending and allowed teacher pay to lag behind the rest of the country. Today, our per pupil spending is in the bottom 25% of the country and our teacher pay is in the bottom third.

Republicans’ narrative around education always begins in the legislative session before they took power. The country was in the worst recession since the Great Depression and tax revenue had cratered. The Democrats in power froze teacher pay after almost a decade of steady raises. According to the GOP narrative, it’s Democrats who cut teacher pay.

What they don’t say is that they kept the freeze in place the first session they controlled the legislature, too. As the economic conditions improved, they gave small raises while continuing to allow other aspects of public education to suffer. They eliminated teacher assistants in elementary school. They slashed the budget for textbooks and technology. Schools lack enough nurses, social workers and counselors to address the needs of students.

Republicans call the rally a political stunt, but 15,000 teachers don’t travel from across the state for a political stunt. They see real problems in our classrooms that Republicans deny. Those teachers are also supported by administrators and school boards that have felt the reduction in funds from the General Assembly.

Historically in North Carolina, Democrats have done well when elections are about public education. They’re banking on that again this year. Republicans have charts and op-eds to back up their arguments but the impact of GOP rule on public schools is plain to anyone who works in them or has children that attend them. Classrooms have fewer resources and teachers have more responsibilities without an adequate increase in compensation. Republicans are making a paper argument. Democrats are making an emotional one.

6 Comments

  1. Ed Harrison

    Reports suggest it’s a lot more than 15,000 there.

  2. Troy

    If you reside in NC house district 04, you might want to sit up and take notice about what your elected representative has to say about teachers, salaries and spending.

    http://www.newbernsj.com/opinion/20180514/jimmy-dixon-facts-about-education-spending

    Apparently the New Bern paper wasn’t the only one that this ode to statistical parlance appeared in either, according to the web.

    I would strongly urge you to read critically what is written and consider the picture Representative Dixon is trying to paint. Facts are facts no doubt. Too bad he’s cherry picked his in order to paint his partial portrait of opulence in Public Education.

  3. EBRUN

    In 2011, NC public school teachers’ pay ranked 47th among the 50 states and D.C. As of 2018, initial estimates are that NC teacher pay will rank 35th among the states. When cost-of-living is compared among the states, NC teachers’ pay rank climbs to 29th.

    That’s not “lagging behind.” That’s catching up.

  4. Sue Johnson

    I am glad to see teachers and their supporters doing what they are doing. I was at the women’s march and it was so uplifting! I am working that day but if I wasn’t, I’d try to be there. Our children are our future.

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