Justin Ashley, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg teacher who last year wrote an open letter to House Speaker Thom Tillis, is now featured in an ad for Tillis's U.S. Senate opponent, Democrat Kay Hagan.
A year ago, Ashley wrote to Tillis in the form of an op-ed in the Observer. In it, he explained how he had benefited from a North Carolina Teaching
Fellows Scholarship, a program the legislature ended. He implored Tillis to keep it.
"I feel like I’m doing what I was born to do. I come from a low-income family, so this scholarship gave me the opportunity to go to college to become a teacher," he says in the new Hagan ad. " “This is an opportunity that no teacher will ever have again in this state. That scholarship, it was eliminated
under the last budget because of the cuts from Mr. Tillis.”
Like the other ads in the series, he says Tillis "has taken the money we need for our schools and given it to billionaires."
That's an allusion to last year's tax cuts, which Republicans credit with boosting the economy while Democrats say disproportionately benefit the wealthy.
Ashley, who won N.C. teacher of
the year honors last year, is one of four people -- including a Charlotte student -- featured in four separate Hagan ads about education.
Says Tillis spokesman Daniel Keylin: "Kay Hagan is hitting the panic button and running a negative campaign because she can’t defend her record of voting with Obama’s failed liberal agenda 95 percent of the time. ... Thom Tillis cut taxes and created opportunities for every North Carolinian taxpayer, which has helped middle-class families struggling under the Obama-Hagan economy get back on their feet. Under Thom’s leadership, education funding has increased every year, and teachers recently received historic 7 percent average pay raises."
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
27 comments:
So many Teachers have supported the democrats with votes and money for so long, that they now have the same mindset as democrats.
No need to look at how the money is spent, or the results, just more money.
While cutting the money to teaching fellows, which goes to strong students who want to committ to teaching, Tillis continued the money for Teach For America . This goes to students who have no interest or training in teaching but want their loans canceled. Few make it beyond the two year minimum.
Actually few TFA's make it beyond a year, just ask the Durham, NC School Board who canceled their contract
this week for TFA's continuing revolving door of barely trained resume padders.
While cutting the money to teaching fellows, which goes to strong students who want to committ to teaching, Tillis continued the money for Teach For America . This goes to students who have no interest or training in teaching but want their loans canceled. Few make it beyond the two year minimum.
Beverly(former teacher)Purdue set teachers in NC back at least a decade. They will NEVER EVER get back their lost salary, benefits package and pension.
An education degree in this state is a half step above a job at Starbucks now.
I'm a teacher who voted Republican all my life. I am pro-life, pro-traditional marriage and NOT a mamber of NCAE. I will not vote for Thom Tillis under any circumstances. He has been disrespectful to teachers and his policies have harmed the classroom. I will sit that election out. There is no one for whom I can vote. Republicans were foolish for nominating Tillis.
In response to "... he says Tillis "has taken the money we need for our schools and given it to billionaires." This is nothing but an outright, bold-faced lie, and it's the lie that Democrats constantly feed their constituents so that they will vote for them. The truth is that the money was earned by these "billionaires" or the elusive "rich," and taken from them through taxation and redistributed. The money was not earned by schools nor by any other person; therefore, it belongs to the person who earned it. The schools didn't earn the money, so no one can take money away from them. The TRUTH is that the money was earned by the so-called "billionaires," and Democrats take so much away from them-really they would like MOST of it. They see it as THEIR money. So they continue this outrageous lie that Republicans take money from the poor to give to the rich-when it is Democrats who take money away from the "rich" and give it to everyone else. So try being honest for a change. These "rich" pay most of our taxes-then they are vilified by Democrats. They spend plenty of money which helps employ people and drives the economy. They ARE the employers. Poor people do not start companies nor hire others. Taking too much money from them hurts employment and the economy. Eventually they leave the state, the country or move their companies overseas to countries who do not steal all their earnings! Lying is a sin-like murder. So Democrats, stop lying! As for programs such as teaching scholarships,I don't remember the exact figures, but they left a huge debt to the federal government, something like $2.7 billion? Republicans are paying or have paid it off. Our state is required to have a balanced budget-no debt like the $17 trillion of the U.S. My opinion, there would be more money for teachers and this scholarship if it were not for the many, many highly paid (over $100,000+) gov bureaucrats at the local, state and federal levels. If you got rid of these at the Dept of Ed alone, you would have more for teachers. Get rid of the layers upon layers of bureaucrats in the local school systems and put the money into the teacher salaries!
@Anonymous 06:59 AM
Hello Mr. Tillis, rise and shine.
I am sick and tired of the constant whining from teachers. They knew going in teaching was not a high paying job, they also knew they would have great benefits, and job security. What other job can you name that has built in "tenure"? Quit your dang complaining or go find other employment.
To the teacher who doesn't like Tillis, but plans to sit this election out... DON'T. That's exactly what they're counting on. If you don't vote, you get exactly what you don't want. And you can save your complaints because you have no one to blame but yourself.
To address the issue of teacher pay is one thing. But to blindly ignore the obvious is another. Where is the lottery money? We know where it went. Purdue and her cronies raided it to pay the states bills. Teachers should demand that their administrators take pay cuts and give it to them instead of constantly asking taxpayers to hand over more. There is no real reason a superintendent (Gorman) should have been earning more of a salary than the president, and then be rewarded with a bonus for failing schools. The teachers need to look inward first before pointing the finger. They need to demand accountability first.
To the Purdue haters. She's been gone a couple of years. Tillis and McCrory have created this mess. To the idiot that said the billionaires earned their monies. They received the monies off the hard work of the under paid. The truth is, Billionaires can afford the lawyers and accountants to evade taxes. They pay much less % wise then the average worker. Did keep your stupid opinions to yourself.
Uhhh, Billionaires and multi-millionaires pay more taxes than the average citizen..about 35% or more. The ones who pay next to nothing are those who are on welfare...
Anonymous said...
To the Purdue haters. She's been gone a couple of years.
Bush has been gone 6.5 years, yet Obama still blames him or all o his problems.
If you don't like what Tillis is doing with the schools send him to Washington!
Kay Hagan is in the top 50 richest members of congress.During the Obama years the gap between the rich and poor has incressed greatly.So tell me who is for the rich.
There are a grand total of 3 billionaires living in NC. Does he teach math?
Actually, I'm a "whiny" teacher who would rather "whine" about having to share a planet with morons like you who don't realize that a quality education system is the #1 factor that determines the success of society. And the #1 factor that determines a successful education system is having quality teachers in the classroom. And you're not going to keep quality teachers in the classroom if they're not paid competitive salaries. So if people like you and Thom Tillis keep promoting cuts to education and teacher pay, then I hope you're prepared to live with the consequences.
People who are able to do something well can do that thing for a living, while people who are not able to do anything that well make a living by teaching
Thom "toll road" Tillis has been terrible for the state of North Carolina. Someone needs to send that carpetbagger back to Florida!
In response to Jason Ashley in the ad. Why should I pay for a scholarship for you when I have to struggle to pay for my own child's college education with no help from anyone. Answer that please.
Billionaires might pay more than the average person, but not percentage wise. They have plenty of loopholes to lower their tax bills. Shame on you for suggesting they are doing their part.
NC is taking a fast road to the bottom in education. I know many teachers who left because of pay, and the current "raises" are BS. Yes, teachers don't go into the profession looking to get rich, but they should be able to support a family and have benefits. Is that too much to ask?
To anonymous struggling to pay for her child's college without help from anyone. There is help out there. Did your child apply for any scholarships? Does your child want to be a teacher? Do you even know what a Teaching Fellow Scholarship is. Maybe you and your child should do some more homework.
NC's teacher of the year can't even draw a distinction between millionaires and billionaires. We have 4 billionaires in the state. Sounds like teacher pay is right to me. Typical entitlement propaganda.
Well with all of these negative advertisments on TV i dont know who i even trust anymore because the adds on TV are prebraly using fake or real actors, besides right now i hate both of them because people are saying or Kay Hagan is a good women elect her! Then i see an advertisment with Thom Thillis and i think....you know what my advice is? Don't trust anyone, just dont try to spend half of your time trying to choose between Kay Hagan and Thom Thillis! Just leave them alone and let other people trying to waste their time making advertisments to choose the person. SORRY IF THIS COMMENT IS TOO LONG! HAVE A NICE DAY :)
I read on a fact checking website that many teachers got less than a 7% pay raise, more than those who got more. They couldn't say the statement was completely false because of the disclaimer saying 7% is an average. They cited one teacher who got .3%
You may be a quality teacher, but you don't work in a quality ED system that produces quality results. It will never be fixed under Democratic leadership at national, state, or local levels. They have made "Public" Education a corupt joke. Keep voting Democratic and stay a joke.
Post a Comment