RALEIGH, N.C. — Educators, parents, and community leaders are protesting for federal relief amidst the COVID-19 pandemic on August 8th at 1:45 p.m. outside Senator Thom Tillis’s office, according to a news release.
Community leaders say they will hold a press conference and a car caravan protest outside of Tillis’s Raleigh office to demand that he support the HEROES Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The HEROES Act provides essential relief funding for state governments, including $58 billion for schools, according to a news release.
βWithout question, North Carolina educators do not have what we need to safely reopen schools,β said Tamika Walker Kelly, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators. βFederal funding will be critical to keeping educators and students safe, and the HEROES Act is the way to do it. Senator Tillis says that public education is a priority for him β we are simply asking him to prove it.β
The conference will start at 1:45 p.m. on the sidewalk outside the 310 New Bern Avenue office, and will last about twenty minutes, with the car caravan circling the building at the same time, according to a news release.
Education advocates say they need to get funding for K-12 education, and for public assistance programs critical to the well-being of hundreds of thousands of North Carolina children.
The HEROES Act has been held up in the U.S. Senate since May, and community leader say Senator Tillis needs to publicly support bringing the bill to a vote, according to a news release.
