Educators protest K-12 budget cuts

Educators, parents and students from all across the state gathered in Raleigh Saturday to protest state budget cuts to K-12 public education.

After a 12 p.m. rally at the North Carolina Association of Educators office on Salisbury Street in downtown Raleigh, hundreds marched past the court house and the State Capitol sporting matching T-shirts and raised signs as they chanted “fund schools first.”

The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), the state’s largest association for education professions along with the North Carolina Parent Teacher Association, organized the event in response to recent state budget cuts and the expectation of further cuts during the N.C. General Assembly’s short session which began last week.

“Because of the budget cuts, there are less educators per student … there is no individual attention given to the children,” said Cindy Craven, an educator who was laid off in the budget cuts.

Thirteen educators were laid off in Craven’s Randolph County school, making the class sizes soar and overburdening the remaining teachers.

According to “Education Week,” North Carolina received a failing grade of “F” and was ranked 11 out of 12 southeastern states for the amount it spends on education. For many at the rally, the state’s failing grade was unacceptable.

Attendees addressed the crowd about the dangers of a lack of funding for public education.

Overcrowding in classrooms, a lack of 21^st century technology and a lack of structural support from the state were some of the issues discussed by the speakers.

One NCAE board member raised the issue of how the UNC system, particularly UNC-Chapel Hill, receives state money to fund out-of-state students and top athletes while the state’s K-12 students suffer.

In the fiscal year 2009-2010, $225 million in discretionary cuts were made from K-12 education, slashing more than 3,000 teacher positions, 219 support staff and 1,552 teaching assistants.

Gov. Bev Perdue’s recommended budget for the revised 2010-2011 fiscal year would cut $314 million from K-12 schools, outraging many who have already suffered due to previous cuts.

Randolph County special education teacher Donna Coco said overcrowding was such a problem in one of her school’s classrooms that they had to take out all the individual desks and put in group tables to accommodate the growing number of students.

Even though these students have a physical place to sit, they are still not nurtured like they should be, Coco said.

“How can I get to all my students each day and treat them with equity?” Coco said. “With these class sizes, it’s not possible.”

Many at the event referred to teachers as “babysitters” instead of educators. NCAE is calling for a moratorium on waivers allowing class size to increase, but with the lack of funding, a moratorium does not seem likely.

David Donovan, the democratic challenger to Sen. Richard Stevens, R-Wake, said that while overcrowding in the classroom is a big issue, it is not the only problem K-12 cuts are causing the state.

“Education is the single most important issue facing our state. This is also an economic issue,” Donovan said.

People move and businesses relocate to areas where the schools are of high quality, Donovan said.

If schools become substandard due to a lack of funding, certain areas could lose the ability to attract new families and businesses, he said

“To cut funding is costing us more long term than it is saving us now,” Donovan said.

But many parents are more concerned with the immediate consequences of a sub-standard education for their children.

Deborah Rudolph, mother of three and teaching assistant at North Hills Elementary in Winston Salem, explained that her children need an education that will benefit them and help them get decent jobs.

“I know can’t afford college, so I want to make sure my kids are getting a good education right now,” Rudolph said.

Rudolph said that with the distractions and lack of financial resources in her own classroom, she doubts her girls are getting a quality education.

“To some of my students, I’m a mom, dad, counselor, caretaker and a teacher,” Rudolph said.

Some of her students, she explained, come to school dirty, unfed and tired. She thinks the state should be supporting teachers more, not less, especially when educators are taking on so many roles.

“You’re not just a teacher to these kids…you’re everything,” Rudolph said.

While the N.C. Constitution mandates that the N.C. General Assembly balance the budget, members of the NCAE argue that it cannot be done at the expense of public education.

Rally attendees were encouraged to write letters to and call their state senators and representatives to ask them to first fund schools, and then worry about balancing the budget.

“We care about these kids and their education and we show it every day by showing up,” Deborah Rudolph said.

“When is the state going to do the same for us? For them?”