Brunswick Beacon, 05.05.22
There is a saying that “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it”. Unfortunately, Republicans didn’t follow that advice approximately ten years ago when they took over Brunswick County Schools and the NC Legislature. As noted in a state-wide publication earlier this year, The GOP had slashed per pupil funding—as low as 39th nationally—while shifting funds to private and unregulated charter schools. Their overall poor treatment of teachers—ending of tenure and the Teaching Fellows Program, no pay increase for several years, and layoffs of teaching assistants—has led to their fleeing from the Brunswick County classroom to those in adjoining counties or states. More than two thirds of the Federal funds allocated for prekindergarten programs ($75 million) was shifted a few years ago to other areas of the state budget.
Based upon the NC Constitution which guarantees a sound and basic education for all students and led to the Leandro Court Case, an independent consultant group recommended $1.7 billion in additional school funding this year.
Although the state has $8 billion in reserve funds, GOP judges on the NC Supreme Court are currently trying to delay and/or deny this funding.
Please ask local candidates for the Board of Education and NC General Assembly if they are also willing to deny funding to help low-income students and those with disabilities, increase pay for educators, and expand the prekindergarten program.
Don’t allow politicians to continue to make children “pay the price” for their partisan decisions.
William Flythe
Southport
BCDP Note: William ("Bill") Flythe is a Democrat running for the Brunswick County School Board, District 3 seat. Learn more about him here.