DURHAM, N.C. – The Durham Association of Educators held an emergency meeting on Thursday to talk about raises and other education issues.
- Durham teachers held an emergency meeting on Thursday
- The teachers are struggling and want raises
- The state government hasn't passed a budget, so teachers haven't gotten raises
Teachers say they are struggling as the schools are underfunded, and their concerns fall on deaf ears.
They believed they were getting raises at the start of the school year, but the state has not been able to pass a budget.
“We've got some true dire emergencies happening in our public schools,” Lakewood Elementary School teacher Turquoise Lejeune Parker said. “I don't care what your affiliation is, get to work, pass this budget, do your business, stop trying to put your self-interest above the kids and the community and us. This is ridiculous. I mean seriously, get over yourself. Fund these schools, fund our educators, fund our community.”
The teachers are not happy that other state employees have received raises.
“We know that this is what we want to do, and we know the sacrifices that are going to be a part of that, but what the rest of society doesn't really seem to maybe get is there isn’t a 40-hour work week and a summer off. We work 60-hour weeks, and we mostly work most of the summer when we're not recovering. We’re doing that, and we know we’re not going to get paid a whole lot but we’re telling you what we’re getting paid is not enough,” Durham Association of Educators’ Bryan Proffitt said.
