It’s not an easy time to be an educator in North Carolina. In a new national report on average teacher pay, the state dropped three spots to 46th in the nation. The state also ranked 46th in per-student spending, down seven spots from last year.
In response to poor teacher pay and the lack of a new state budget, thousands of public school teachers took to the streets of downtown Raleigh on Friday. They traveled to the state legislature from as far as Asheville, Charlotte and Greenville.
It’s been a particularly unsettling time as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools continue to go back and forth on a budget. Last week, the CMS board voted to reject Superintendent Crystal Hill's proposed $2.1 billion budget in a contentious meeting 8-1, with only board member Monty Witherspoon voting yes. The board members did not detail specific revisions they wanted to see in the budget at the time, despite Hill asking for clarity
Instead, the CMS Board met for three hours Saturday morning to outline its concerns with Hill’s proposed budget.
The unusual 8 a.m. weekend meeting was noted as a "budget workshop." Immediately upon convening, the board voted to go into closed session to discuss matters with their attorney and consider "specific personnel matters."
On this Charlotte Talks, we take a look at what teachers hoped to accomplish with their protest, the lack of a new state budget, and what’s going on between Dr. Crystal Hill and the CMS Board, which, up until this point, have worked well with one another.
GUESTS:
Tamika Walker Kelly, president at North Carolina Association of Educators
Ely Portillo, executive editor at WFAE News
Liz Schlemmer, education reporter for WUNC
