Teachers In Charlotte Have A Message For State Lawmakers

CHARLOTTE, NC. — As parents countdown to the start of school on Monday, teachers in Charlotte are once again pushing state lawmakers to increase their pay, provide more resources and update schools.

Teachers are not satisfied, and more are considering leaving the state. In a town hall, Friday, they told lawmakers about poor learning conditions and demanded better working conditions.

In May, 20,000 North Carolina teachers rallied in Raleigh for pay raises, student safety, and building improvements.

CMS teacher Justin Parmenter says not enough has been done since then.

“Really none of them were addressed by the legislature during the short session, so I think we have a lot of things that need attention,” says Parmenter.

North Carolina lawmakers agreed to an average 6.2% pay raise for teachers next year. Mecklenburg County’s new budget gives CMS $6.8 million to pay for a one-time 7% employee increase.

Parmenter says it’s about more than putting money in their pockets.

“I think we’ve got a lot of schools across the state that are in really poor condition and those are difficult conditions for our students to learn in and that would probably be one of our number one priority.”