To the Editor:

I am a retired classroom teacher and worked in Haywood County Schools for 37 years. During the past two years I have been disappointed and concerned over the decisions that have been made by the Republican-led legislature and governor that directly affect the lives of the citizens of North Carolina. 

A lot of valuable time has been spent at the taxpayers’ expense, especially in the area of education. I am pleased that teachers received a raise, but this turned out to be very misleading. Only beginning teachers received a significant amount. Many veteran teachers received less than 1 percent, and many didn’t receive any raise at all. We need to retain all teachers, and there isn’t any substitute for experience. Teachers have lost tenure and longevity pay, and those who are working toward advanced degrees don’t have any assurance that they will receive extra money for having obtained their degree.

Thousands of teacher assistant positions have been eliminated and teachers have to cope with more students in their classes, inadequate supplies, outdated textbooks and not enough books for all students to have a copy to take home.

Once an educator, always an educator, and I think Jane Hipps is the candidate that can help put North Carolina Public Schools back on track. I have known Jane since she came to Haywood County. She spent more than 30 years working in the county school system. She understands what educators need in order to bring North Carolina schools into the future. Jane also has a degree in nursing earned after retiring from Haywood County Schools. She will work to secure healthcare for all citizens, jobs for those who need them, and try to help people in all areas of life.

Sen. Jim Davis seems to think that teachers should be able to manage a classroom with more students, less materials, less pay, and without teacher assistants. His wife taught in California in the 1980s and she didn’t have teacher assistants, so evidently he doesn’t think they are needed. Sen. Davis can’t understand what teachers are fussing and griping about. After all, they got a raise.

Sen. Davis also thinks that public libraries aren’t important, and that they are becoming obsolete. If he wants a book, he just goes to a bookstore and buys it.  This isn’t a solution for the majority of North Carolina citizens. I am a member of the Haywood County Friends of the Library Book Sale Committee, and we work from September to July to hold an annual book sale. We made over $30,000 this past July to benefit the library. The books were priced so that everyone could afford them.  Hundreds of people took advantage of this opportunity to have books to read.

It seems that the Republican-led Legislature and governor didn’t have any clear vision or agenda for the laws that were passed. Every decision that was made at the state level was intended to suppress our values and freedoms. They have allowed doubts, fears, and paranoia to guide their decisions. Don’t ever underestimate revenge. It is a very powerful motive.

Gail Leatherwood

Lake Junaluska