After 3-Hour Teach-In, Teachers, Students and the Forward Together Moral Movement Promise to Return to the NC General Assembly for Further Action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 9, 2014



Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413



"We'll Be Back!"



After 3-Hour Teach-In, Teachers, Students and the Forward Together
Moral Movement Promise to Return to the NC General Assembly for
Further Action



RALEIGH - Teachers, parents, alumni, students and other concerned
North Carolinians arrived today, intent on petitioning Senate Leader
Berger over the devastating cuts to public schools that he included in
his 2014 and previous budgets. They came armed with fact sheets; the
teachers brought lesson plans. They demanded repeals to the many
extreme laws attacking teachers and schools this year.



The Senator cleared his office and locked the doors before the
teachers and students arrived. Undeterred, they held a three-hour
Teach-In for members of the legislature and public. Senator Berger
only arrived hours after the Teach-In began, and only after he ordered
the NC General Assembly police to clear all the supporters out of the
building.



"The Forward Together Moral Movement is proud of the courageous
teachers, students and parents who decided to stand up for students
and schools today by demanding the extremist legislative leadership
take decisive action to repeal destructive policies designed to
undermine public education in our state," said Rev. Dr. William J.
Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP. "These fifteen
moral witnesses had doubts as to whether Senate Leader Berger's offers
to consider restoring education funding were genuine, but they decided
to give him a few days to prove that he will act as a statesman and do
the right thing. If he does not, then we will be back for a full and
direct action. The teachers and students will not stay home. They and
the Forward Together Moral Movement will be back in their offices and
the People's House to make sure they do not put public education and
opportunities for our children at risk."



Rev. Barber continued, "We have spent the past few years attempting to
get a good-faith meeting between the legislative leadership and the
Forward Together Moral Movement. For Senator Berger to clear the
building before meeting with the moral witnesses, to avoid the people
for the past few weeks on Mondays, is shameful. Teachers are smarter
than that. The Moral Mondays Movement will not fall for it."



Background:



Last summer, thousands gathered at Moral Monday to protest this
extremist General Assembly's decision to slash money from the
education budget - hobbling public schools, leaving teacher pay at
47th in the nation, burdening students with skyrocketing tuition rates
at public colleges and universities and funneling millions of taxpayer
dollars to private schools through a voucher program.

This summer, Senate Leader Phil Berger put together a budget that
attempts to raise teachers' wages, but does so at the expense of
eliminating vital classroom support, teacher worker protections and
other public school funding that enables our children to learn in
safe, diverse and supportive environments.





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