Turner Creek Elementary PTA Advocacy
PTA is the nations oldest child advocacy organization, and each PTA unit is required to have an Advocacy Chair. At Turner Creek, parent Lisa Mead has served in this role on the local and county level for several years. The WakePTA provides information about voting, budgets, school board meetings, and other issues.
Did you know it is budget season? In North Carolina, Governor Cooper released his ideal state (view here) budget a few weeks ago, and the state Senate released a version (here) last Wednesday. You can read more about the impact on education in this article from EdNC, but it includes raises for teachers and state employees. Some state government agencies have reported as many as one in every four or five jobs vacant, and on the county level we have seen nearly 40% vacancy rate in some departments. As of February there were 5,000 unfilled teaching jobs statewide, an unprecedented number that we are seeing impact all levels of our schools. A main focus in the budget is using our large budget surplus to try to address these workforce issues (WRAL article).
Wake County provides about 27% of the Wake County Public School System's budget. The county budget is under discussion right now, which will likely include raises for teachers in addition to the state funding. Right now a WCPSS first year Bachelor degree level teacher starts at $43,000, which includes an $8,000 local supplement on top of the state salary (salary schedule here).
Last week, Board Chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey presented the WCPSS budget priorities to our County Commissioners. On April 11, the full budget request will be released from WCPSS, and in May there will be multiple opportunities for the public to speak with County Commissioners about the budget. On June 5, the vote will be held to adopt the county budget, which includes over $500 million for our schools.
What can YOU do?
Send an email to your County Commissioner letting them know education should be a priority in the budget, it is likely Cheryl Stallings for the Apex/Cary area Email: cheryl.stallings@wakegov.com.
Speak at a meeting! Schedule of dates is here, but May 15 is the most important one.
For sample emails you can use or modify, please see here.
Thank you for advocating for our schools!
Did you know it is budget season? In North Carolina, Governor Cooper released his ideal state (view here) budget a few weeks ago, and the state Senate released a version (here) last Wednesday. You can read more about the impact on education in this article from EdNC, but it includes raises for teachers and state employees. Some state government agencies have reported as many as one in every four or five jobs vacant, and on the county level we have seen nearly 40% vacancy rate in some departments. As of February there were 5,000 unfilled teaching jobs statewide, an unprecedented number that we are seeing impact all levels of our schools. A main focus in the budget is using our large budget surplus to try to address these workforce issues (WRAL article).
Wake County provides about 27% of the Wake County Public School System's budget. The county budget is under discussion right now, which will likely include raises for teachers in addition to the state funding. Right now a WCPSS first year Bachelor degree level teacher starts at $43,000, which includes an $8,000 local supplement on top of the state salary (salary schedule here).
Last week, Board Chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey presented the WCPSS budget priorities to our County Commissioners. On April 11, the full budget request will be released from WCPSS, and in May there will be multiple opportunities for the public to speak with County Commissioners about the budget. On June 5, the vote will be held to adopt the county budget, which includes over $500 million for our schools.
What can YOU do?
Send an email to your County Commissioner letting them know education should be a priority in the budget, it is likely Cheryl Stallings for the Apex/Cary area Email: cheryl.stallings@wakegov.com.
Speak at a meeting! Schedule of dates is here, but May 15 is the most important one.
For sample emails you can use or modify, please see here.
Thank you for advocating for our schools!