RALEIGH (AP) — Retired teachers and former Democratic elected officials say Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Pat McCrory are misleading citizens about the North Carolina state budget’s effect on public schools.
Several groups organized a rally Thursday morning outside the old Capitol building in Raleigh, not far from McCrory’s office. The 100 in attendance say McCrory and other GOP politicians aren’t mentioning the harm the spending plan will do as traditional-calendar schools resume in a couple of weeks.
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge says there are real cuts to public education with less money to pay teacher assistants and the creation of a program giving tax dollars to students in low-income families for private school tuition.
Republicans have said the budget actually increased public school spending compared to last year.