A Republican Takeover of North Carolina Wreaks Havoc on Education
By Garrett Glover
Monday through Friday in North Carolina, millions of children and young adults like me attend
public schools to secure a future for themselves, their state, and their nation. After the bell rings,
teachers keep students where they need to be and push them to their potential. They answer
to parents and school administrators day in and day out, and work continuously after school
hours to grade papers and prepare their lessons for the next day. North Carolina hadn’t elected
a Republican governor in 16 years before 2012 and had become a beacon for progress in the
conservative South. Under Democratic Governors Jim Hunt, Mike Easley and Bev Perdue,
North Carolina improved, modernized, and bettered its education system. So, obviously, North
Carolina’s educators, students and parents greatly benefitted by keeping Democratic leadership
in the governor’s mansion. In November of 2012, however, North Carolina chose to go down
a different path. Citizens of my home state elected Republican Governor Pat McCrory and
burdened the General Assembly with a Republican majority. After that, North Carolina took a
sharp turn to the right and has seen what nonsense that can cause. The North Carolina General
Assembly (NCGA) passed Senate Bill 402, which was a bill that included a huge set of budget
provisions that would harm North Carolina’s schools, teachers, and students. The bill went into
effect on July 1, 2013. Here’s a quick look at what SB402 does to N.C.:
* The bill provides no pay increases for North Carolina’s teachers. By doing that, the NCGA
continued North Carolina’s race to the bottom in teacher pay. During the 2007–2008 school year,
North Carolina was ranked 25th in the United States for teacher pay. Last year, however, we fell
to 46th place.
* North Carolina’s retired educators will not be given any Cost-of-Living Adjustments.
* The bill reduces textbook funding by $76 million dollars and cuts funding for educational/
instructional material by $44 million dollars
* SB402 eliminates funding needed for 5200 teachers and 270 student support personnel
positions.
* It’s estimated that the bill eliminates funding for 3,850 teacher assistants.
* The new bill grades schools based solely on just two factors: standardized testing and school
growth. A whopping 80 percent of the grade will be based on standardized test scores and
remaining 20 percent will be based on school growth.
* The General Assembly froze both per-pupil funding and salaries while adopting a $10 million
voucher program.
* Once the 2014–2015 school year begins, teachers will no longer receive additional pay for
obtaining a master’s degree unless it is required for their positions.
Before this governor, this General Assembly and this bill, families from all across the United
States moved to North Carolina for its progressive policies and prominent education system.
Now, after all these actions by the NCGA and Pat McCrory, parents who brought their children
to North Carolina have made it known that they would not have moved here if they had had
foreknowledge of these backwards, regressive, and unjust policies. At one of NC’s many Moral
Monday protests against this new administration, I saw a sign that read: “Welcome to North
Carolina. Turn clock back 50 years.” To me, this is an accurate example of how it feels to be a
student and citizen of North Carolina. Fortunately, many North Carolinians have in fact made
their voices heard by protesting just outside the General Assembly and marching up and down
the streets of Raleigh, North Carolina’s capital, demanding a better future for this state and
America.