news-record.com

Skip to the site menu
Skip to search

NEWS

Advertisement | Advertise with Us

Teachers to protest education cuts

Monday, May 4, 2009

(Updated 1:59 pm)

By J. Brian Ewing
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Teachers and other school employees will rally in Raleigh later this month to protest state budget cuts.

The N.C. Association of Educators will hold a rally May 16 at its Raleigh headquarters to protest the $35 million the group estimates has been cut from the budget for school employees.

“It’s been a spiraling downfall,” said Mark Jewell, NCAE local president. “People feel enough is enough.”

Last week, Gov. Bev Perdue announced that the salaries of all state workers, including teachers, would be cut half a percent through June 30, the end of the fiscal year, in exchange for 10 hours of time off to be taken by Dec. 31.

On Friday, Perdue’s office said the state would ask the state's school systems to return $45 million. Guilford County’s portion of that works out to about $2 million, according to school system officials.

This is the second such reversion; in December, school systems were asked to return $58 million.

The NCAE is an association of education employees that acts as unions would in other states.

Jewell said the rally will call for Perdue and legislators to stand up for teachers even during a stormy economic period, a play on the fact that many NCAE members campaigned for Perdue and other lawmakers on a rainy Election Day.

WANT TO GO?

What: NCAE rally to protest cuts to state schools.

When: May 16 beginning at noon.

Where: NCAE office at 700 South Salisbury St., Raleigh.

What do you think?

15 comment(s)

Read other visitors' comments.

Comments

This article has been closed to new comments. Comments are generally closed after 14 days. However, comments may be closed earlier at the discretion of the News & Record.

Inappropriate content? Please notify us.

edward0275

May 4, 2009 - 10:37 am EDT

Be careful who you wish for ... and campaign for.

Paul J

May 4, 2009 - 11:19 am EDT

School employees can share the pain with the reat of us. Do they thing they are SPECIAL?

mcmilj01

May 4, 2009 - 11:36 am EDT

Well, Paul, maybe you need to go back to school, since your having trouble spelling. We only educate your children, hopefully you didnt have any, cause i know 1st graders that can spell better than you.

mynameisyours

May 4, 2009 - 11:44 am EDT

While this is a bad thing, I think that teachers should be thankful that they still have jobs. I know that a half of a percent is a big number (in terms of a teacher's salary), but be thankful it was only half a percent and not a whole percent or more. Our governer was faced with a hard decision when she chose to do this, and while I was not happy about it (since I teach), I understood the reasoning behind it.
As far as the comment about thinking that we're "SPECIAL".... I mean come on. Is it really "grown up" to say that kind of thing? Right now, instead of throwing blame or insults at people, we should be trying to help each other out. Be thankful if you have a job. Don't bash the people who don't. And if you don't have a job, don't bash the people that do. The world's a bad enough place without having people throw insults and blame at everyone else.
JUST BE THANKFUL IN THE GOOD AND THE BAD........

edward0275

May 4, 2009 - 12:24 pm EDT

Well, Paul, maybe you need to go back to school, since YOUR having trouble spelling.

Someone

May 4, 2009 - 1:35 pm EDT

I think you mean "you're"...

Criticizing spelling errors when his post has so many other obvious flaws seems a waste of time.

edward0275

May 4, 2009 - 2:19 pm EDT

I know the proper use of YOUR and YOU'RE. It seems that mcmilj01 does not. But she doesn't need to know. As she said: "We only educate your children". God help us all.

mcmilj01

May 4, 2009 - 2:43 pm EDT

I was not making an example of you edward, i was only speaking to Paul. Yes i missed the correct usage of "your". Im sorry and i hope everyone's day is better off now. I only wanted to point out that Paul's statement of state employees thinking they are special. And no I am not a teacher, but a state employee, and by no means do i think that we are special. I think some people on here should come and visit some classes on a daily basis and see what our teachers have to put up with. They deserve much better. Yes, the teacher's are special, why you ask?? Because they have to deal with your disruptive kids. yes they are special and they do no deserve to have their pay cut.

woodfactor

May 4, 2009 - 5:12 pm EDT

Well mcmilj01 . . . Paul is just a fast keyboarder who didn't proof his work. Your posts, on the other hand, are full of grammatical errors - which is far worse than a slip of a typing finger. Careful when you criticize - because it appears that three fingers are pointing back at you. I wish you well.

ravencottage

May 4, 2009 - 12:14 pm EDT

Just wondering how many teachers voted for Perdue? 99.9%?

igliigli

May 4, 2009 - 3:57 pm EDT

Instead of cutting poorly paid teacher's pay, cut the sports teams, the coaches and the ADs.

martha315

May 4, 2009 - 5:38 pm EDT

What happened to all the money generated by the North Carolina "Education" Lottery?

turkey

May 4, 2009 - 11:20 pm EDT

Haven't they made 5 billion in as many years or is it only three years. It is ashamed that the money isn't given to the schools as promised. Teachers are losing their jobs and I am one of them. I am not special or entitled but when you vote for something it shouldn't have pigeon holes as the lottery did. Right your congressmen and I do mean right the way I spelled it.

snowman

May 5, 2009 - 8:49 am EDT

The school system problem is the high paying salaries in the main office. Why are we paying close to $200,000 for a Superintendent? We are we paying Principals $80,000 plus? Why does it take 15 people to do a job that 2 people could do? Why do have to have so many special teams? Why is the school system being a baby sitter for parents? Are are we transporting kids to magnet schools, from one side of the county to the other side of the county? Who's idea was it to come up with all these magnet schools, oh yea what's his name TERRY GRIER. The bottomline is there are so many questions as to why, and without asking everyone knows the answers. Every company in the US is having to make cuts, why is this so surprising? There are alot of teaching jobs out there that are just bs classes, that need to be cut. In the times that we are in, we need to focus on the basic skills, Reading, Spelling, English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Health, PE. In high school, focus on these classes with skill training in career classes. If you choice to put your child in a magnet school then you must provide transportation for him or her, I dont care want color or race you are. If you want your child to participate in a sports program we need to start making the parent pay, and again it doesn't matter what color or race your are. These same students that get the free help in school, pay to play travel sports so shey are they not paying in high school. We need to FOCUS on what is important when cash flow is low.

Teacher

May 6, 2009 - 3:32 pm EDT

Superintedent makes more than $200,000 and some principals make over $100,000. I would demand more if I were in their positions, though. They put up with a tremendous amount of junk and spend many hours at work before most people get out of bed in the morning through to the night hours. Magnet schools are funded with federal money, not state or local. I agree with cutting sports programs and making parents pay for student participation. I think ADs need to teach as well. Schools have athletic directors who do not teach. Students need more than just the basic skills in school. As for being a babysitter, I'd take babysitter pay rather than teacher pay any day. I'd take less than most babysitters make! Let's say I just made $2.00 an hour per child. If I teach 30 students a day for 7 hours for 180 days, I make $75,600! WOW! That's FAR more than I make now. Let's say I am a "special" babysitter who has gone to babysitting school a little longer than others and have a second babysitting degree and make $3.00 an hour. I will then make $113,400! This babysitting thing is looking better and better. Now, if I am an extra special babysitter with many years of experience and make $4.00 an hour, I will then make $151,200! All that money for a babysitter who will just watch your children and not teach them anything! Sounds like a deal to me. Maybe I need to go into babysitting instead of teaching. I'd happily pay my health insurance and retirement (I do anyhow).