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.