NCAE North Carolina Association of Educators
News Bulletin Dec.
2018
Vol. 49, No. 5
www.ncae.org
Public Education Celebrates Mid-Term Election Success!
The sweet smell of victory! Because of the hard work of NCAE members – whether canvassing, distributing apple cards at the polls, or phone banking – the supermajorities in both the House and Senate were broken, judicial candidates endorsed by the Association were elected, and two of the constitutional amendments that appeared on the ballot were defeated! The voices of educators were elevated as they fought to ensure our students have the resources needed to be successful. May 16 was the beginning of an accountability campaign and members laid the groundwork and informed the public about what was occurring in our public schools. This Mid-Term Election netted 10 more pro-public education candidates in the House and six in the Senate. The end of the supermajorities in both chambers means the General Assembly cannot override a veto from Governor Cooper without some support from Democrats. “Public schools made significant strides by electing more pro-public education candidates,” said NCAE President Mark Jewell “We encourage them to work with Governor Cooper to restore North Carolina back to public education prominence. NCAE will work proactively with these new lawmakers to ensure students and public schools have the resources they need to be successful and that public school educators are respected with professional compensation and benefits.” NCAE’s four endorsed statewide judicial candidates were also victorious. The election of Anita Earls to the NC Supreme Court means a 5-2 advantage for Democrats. And, because of educators’ votes, two of the most egregious constitutional amendments were defeated related to judicial appointments and the Elections and Ethics Board. This was nothing more than a power grab by the Legislature. “With pro-public education elected officials in the governor’s office and in the highest level of our state courts, breaking the supermajorities in the General Assembly was tremendously important,” Jewell added. “However, we cannot stop there. Over the next two years, NCAE will continue to advocate for better education policies for our students, educators, and communities, and we will hold those elected officials accountable to giving our students every opportunity to succeed.”