Fayetteville educators rally for teacher assistants
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Thousands of teacher assistants are on the verge of losing their jobs in a budget battle among state lawmakers.
Dozens of educators rallied in Fayetteville Monday to show their support for teacher assistants, and better pay for teachers.
"We do extra stuff that teachers can't," said Margaret Johnson, who has been a teacher assistant for 37 years, and says she does it for her students.
"We had one little boy that came in," she said. "He had a lot of discipline problems, but we worked with him and he said 'I want to learn to read,' and we helped him, and he left kindergarten class reading."
Monday, Johnson stood with other teacher assistants and educators at the Historic Market House in Fayetteville to save their jobs from Republican-driven budget cuts.
Lela Shaw, a teacher assistant, said what may look good to state lawmakers on paper won't work in the classroom.
"They don't have a clue as to what really takes place in that classroom, and the effect it will have on the children by us not being there," said Shaw.
The budget in the Republican-led North Carolina Senate essentially cuts 8,500 teacher assistants, including 300 in Cumberland County, in return for smaller class sizes, raising some teacher's pay, and hiring 6,000 new teachers over the next two years. However, the educators at Monday's rally said that's bad math.
"It may sound good on paper to cut classroom size in half, but who is going to drive the school
Busses," said one speaker at the rally. "We teacher assistants drive the bus."
Supporters said teacher assistants help tutor students and keep stability in the classroom.
Joe Sorce, who has been a first grader teacher for 25 years, said teacher assistants are invaluable.
"They always tell us to meet the needs of the student," said Sorce. "We can't do it anymore if they take resources from us. They are taking teacher assistants, and they are the most important resources we have today in the young grades."
Organizers said, if 8,500 teacher assistants lose their jobs, it will be the largest layoff in state history.
The state Republican Party on Monday called the rallies a political stunt by "Progress NC" and "Aim Higher Now".
