Will lawmakers leave town for the year before resolving budget standoff?

The budget standoff has dragged past its 100th day, and although lawmakers are back in session this week, don’t expect a resolution before the state Senate adjourns for the year at the end of the month.

On the other hand, don’t put it past Phil Berger to try to sneak a budget veto override through before leaving town if the Democrats aren’t able to hold all 21 members together. So really, anything could happen.

Which is why, in the meantime, it’s worth revisiting why this fight is so important.

• As North Carolinians, we believe in the values of fairness, opportunity, and equality for all. We believe in a society that works for everyone and puts people over profits; where a child’s ability to obtain a quality education, affordable health care, and eventually a good job isn’t determined by their zip code, their family’s income, or their skin color.
• No matter what we look like or where we live, we all want to give our children the opportunity to earn a quality education and succeed in life. Unfortunately, wealthy special interests and the politicians they control are trying to dismantle public schools so they can turn education into a business — deciding who receives an education and who doesn’t based on what’s profitable.
• First, they slash school funding while burdening students and teachers with extra testing. Then they point their fingers at so-called “failing” schools in low-income districts and communities of color in order to claim public schools have failed.
• Politicians are using these “failing” schools as an excuse to slash classroom funding even further, and give their millionaire friends an even bigger tax cut. The only way to reverse this cycle is through unity and collective action, as we’ve seen through teacher walkouts throughout the country – including right here in North Carolina. 

By rejecting the division and scapegoating that special interests and their corrupt politicians use to distract us, together we can once again give educators the resources they need to make sure all of our children succeed.