An anonymous post encouraged teachers statewide to call out of work sick Friday and Monday to protest low school funding and the lack of a state budget, which has left teachers without raises even as state health insurance premiums rise.
There were no reports of mass callouts across the state, but some teachers still took action. While local teachers unions, including the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators, made clear they didn’t endorse the calls to walk out, they encouraged educators to organize in other ways.
Outside Olympic High School, about a dozen educators and union leaders carried signs just after dismissal on Friday, calling on the legislature to pass a budget and improve school funding. They chanted “Pass the budget” and “Restore the promise”
“Please take this day as a warning to fulfill the promise set forth in our state constitution to fully fund a sound, basic education for every student in North Carolina,” LeGrone said.
CMAE leaders had said they didn’t endorse the mass callout because of the anonymous nature of the post and the lack of a clear message. But they said the response to the post has highlighted the frustrations of teachers.
“Today, we came to school despite the calls to walk out,” LeGrone said. “We came to school because we see in each student the potential for our great city. We came to school to demand that our state legislature pass the budget that we sent them to Raleigh to pass this summer.”
CMAE President Amanda Thompson said the group is planning on more organizing, and that “there is something coming on the horizon.”
CMS would not answer questions about whether it had seen an uptick in absences Friday, but said schools were operating as normal. Elsewhere, there were no reports of disruptions. Other districts, like New Hanover County Schools, have reported normal attendance numbers, according to WHQR.
In Union County, where teachers held a mass call-out two weeks ago to protest local funding issues, there was no notable increase in teacher absences, the district said Friday.
The North Carolina General Assembly was supposed to have a budget July 1 but has yet to agree on one. Without it, teachers have not had raises or promised step increases. It comes as the state health plan is set to increase premiums for state employees, like teachers. Some teachers have said the lack of raises and the increased premiums have amounted to an effective pay cut.
