Red 4 Ed movement stirs up controversy across state

Adam Mancini and Nicholas Chupka
Staff Writer and Editor in Chief

Apex shows support for Red 4 Ed

The Red 4 Ed movement has gained strong support in recent weeks among North Carolina teachers who are protesting a recent spending bill passed by the state legislature. The budget signed by Governor McCrory doesn’t include raises for North Carolina teachers, who just so happen to be 48^th lowest paid teachers in the nation. The bill would eliminate raises for teachers who go back to college to get higher degrees, essentially removing all motivation for the teachers themselves to go back to school. Apex High School computer engineering teacher Lawrence Mitchell claims, “Outside the education system, when people get advanced degrees that means they have higher skill levels which means they deserve higher pay. The whole motivation of getting an advanced degree is for better income and a higher standard of life, and that is removed with the elimination of raises for advanced degrees.” Apex Holocaust and Genocide teacher Randall Moncelle says, “This action demonstrates short sightedness on the part of the North Carolina legislature.  Effective educators are lifelong learners who are constantly open to new professional development.  Much like physicians, teachers are seeking more effective ways of reaching their students and doing a better job within the classroom.  This myopic choice by the leaders of North Carolina will have a negative impact upon those who might want to become teachers and it will cause many young teachers to flee the state and relocate in locales that support public education.  The quality of the professional teacher corps in North Carolina will be affected negatively.”

Due to the low N.C. teaching wages, Apex High experienced a loss when teachers supporting families were forced to move out of the state in search of work.  “If you want talent and expertise, you have to pay for it,” says Mitchell, who is concerned the spending bill will discourage teachers from coming to North Carolina. Teachers are also asking for more government funding for schools. Due to the new budget, schools can no longer afford to purchase updated textbooks every 5 years, as they once were.

Not only that, but educators are looking to replace the cap on how many students can be put in a class, which will allow for more one on one interaction between the teachers and pupils. The bill, which passed during the summer, eliminated that class size limit. Mitchell explains, “Some students have the ability to work in larger classes but not all students have this ability. More students might be independent in larger class rooms; however, smaller classes would identify and help students who struggle. With smaller classes, we could really identify which students really need special help and more personal contact.” Moncelle claims, “It has been a proven fact that early childhood education programs and low class size in kindergarten classes through third grade have a positive impact upon those students and their success in public education. When these students arrive in high school, they are less likely to drop out rather they tend to graduate and pursue post high school training.”

The Red 4 Ed movement has received criticism for allegedly bringing politics into the classroom. However, on their official website, they address these criticisms, saying, “Both [political] parties believe the public schools should exist, so it is not partisan to communicate support for them.” Despite this statement, New Hanover County School System informed its teachers and principals that they would no longer be allowed to wear “Red 4 Ed” t-shirts on campus or around students during school hours.

Until their demands are met, teachers plan to wear red every Wednesday. Moncelle explains, “Red is a color universally used to mean danger, warning or stop etc.  Red for Ed uses Red to help us to understand the funding and legislative support of public education in North Carolina is at a dangerous level.”