On Wednesday May 1, 2019 the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) held a Day of Action in Raleigh, NC.
Educators, school personnel, bus drivers, custodians, students, parents, citizens and supporters of Public Education came from across the state to NCAE HQ in downtown Raleigh this morning for a pre-rally and march. They gathered at 8:30am and began marching at 10:30am, up Fayetteville Street, past the State Capitol and Legislative Building to the Halifax Mall where the rally was held. 34 School Districts and 6 Charter Schools closed for the day, and the crowd was expected to be 20,000.
NCAE President Mark Jewell took the stage just after 12:30pm and reiterated the group's five priorities for this year's rally:
1) Provide enough school librarians, psychologists, social workers, counselors, nurses, and other health professionals to meet national professional-to-student standards.
2) Provide a $15 minimum wage for all school personnel, a 5 percent raise for all ESPs (non-certified staff), teachers, administrators, and a 5 percent cost-of-living adjustment for retirees.
3) Expand Medicaid.
4) Reinstate state retiree health benefits eliminated by the General Assembly in 2017.
5) Restore advanced degree compensation stripped by the General Assembly in 2013.
Also speaking at the rally today outside the Legislative Building were NCAE Vice President Kristy Moore, NC Governor Roy Cooper, Rev. William Barber, in addition to a Teacher, Teacher Assistant, School Counselor, and the daughter of two retired School workers.
Around 2pm the rally ended, and Educators and advocates for Public Education went into the Legislative Building to meet with their Legislators.
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