CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dozens of local schools will be closed Wednesday as educators statewide take part in a march outside the General Assembly in Raleigh.
Some of the state’s largest districts, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, have canceled classes for the May 16 march. Educators say they want to have a voice, and that the march will demand better pay and working conditions, like a decrease in class sizes.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, almost 1 million public school students — nearly 64 percent of the student population — will not be in class due to the march.
But some lawmakers, including Mark Brody of Anson and Union counties, don’t agree.
In a recent Facebook post, Brody accused teachers in Union County of inconveniencing 30,000 parents “in order to pressure the General Assembly to increase their pay,” and that teaching our children that it’s OK to not show up for work is not setting a good example.
Brody went on to write that he supports teachers who “do the right thing, in the right way and at the right time.”
Tens of thousands of educators are expected at Wednesday's march. There will also be a rally held at First Ward Park in uptown at 11 a.m. Wednesday for educators unable to make the trip to the state capital.