Just a quick look at who has been in power these last 15 years in Raleigh often through gerrymandered supermajorities:

And in those fifteen years, these actions (among others) have been aimed at the teaching profession here in North Carolina:

• Teacher Pay Kept Well Below National Average
• Removal of Due-Process Rights For New Teachers
• Graduate Degree Pay Bumps Removed For New Teachers
• Retiree Health Benefits Removed For New Teachers
• Push for Merit Pay and Bonus Pay 
• Removal of Longevity Pay 
• Health Insurance and Benefits Altered
• Attacks on Teacher Advocacy Groups (NCAE) 
• Revolving Door of Standardized Tests 
• Reorganization and a Weakening of the Department of Public Instruction 
• Less Money Spent per Pupil When Adjusted For Inflation
• Remove Caps on Class Sizes 
• Amorphous Measures Like “Graduation Rates”
• School Grading System 
• Cutting Teacher Assistants 
• Read to Achieve 
• Educational Savings Accounts 
• Opportunity Grants 
• Unregulated Charter Schools 
• Virtual Charter Schools 
• Innovative School District
• Reduction of Teacher Candidates in Colleges 
• Elimination & Reinventing of Teaching Fellows Program 
• Frozen Salaries For Years 15-24
• Ignorance of LEANDRO Decision
• Bad Safety Protocols During Pandemic
• Budget Taking Three Years To Pass (Twice)

So, when lawmakers begin touting these new raises that immediately get eaten up by inflation, healthcare premium costs, and other economic factors due to current policies, it’s just empty rhetoric.

Midterm elections happen in less than 70 days.

Vote for pro-public education candidates.