GOP budget standoff holding up state employee raises, school budgets

Three weeks into the GOP budget standoff, July paychecks are going out for many state employees whose pay raises are being delayed by Republican leaders’ unwillingness to negotiate. However, those paychecks aren’t the only things left in limbo by the GOP budget standoff.

• With the 2019-20 school year approaching, school districts are having to make budget decisions without a state budget. This causes even more instability in our public schools, which is bad for teachers and students.
• Teachers are having to buy classroom supplies for the upcoming year without the pay raise they would have gotten under both the GOP budget as well as Gov. Cooper’s compromise budget, although the governor’s proposed raise is much higher.
• Critical school support employees like teacher assistants, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers are still waiting to see whether they will get a raise, since the GOP budget still excludes them from earning a minimum of $15/hour like other state employees.
• Meanwhile, Republican leaders won’t even come to the table. Instead of working with the governor to agree on a budget that expands Medicaid and invests in our public schools and students, GOP lawmakers are trying to give even more of their misguided tax cuts to big corporations and the ultra-wealthy. 

The GOP budget standoff is hurting real people, and will only get worse. Republican lawmakers need to stop dithering and come to the negotiating table for the good of the state.