Tag: NC educators on the ballot

DURHAM

A group of current and retired teachers is hoping to shake up North Carolina government by being elected as state lawmakers.

NC Educators on the Ballot recruited six teachers — all of whom were previously registered as Democrats or as unaffiliated voters — to run in the March Republican primary election for the General Assembly. They’re taking on incumbent and former Republican lawmakers in GOP-leaning districts.

“We felt as a group putting educators with experience into the place where decisions are being made could impact statewide education policy and benefit students and benefit schools across the state of North Carolina,” Patricia Saylor, the organizer of NC Educators on the Ballot, said in an interview with The News & Observer.

Saylor, a retired Durham and Chapel Hill-Carrboro teacher and registered Democrat, formed NC Educators on the Ballot over the summer. The group’s slate of six candidates held their first in-person planning meeting on Tuesday in Durham.

The candidates are:

• Pamela Ayscue running in House District 32 (Granville and Vance counties) against former Rep. Frank Sossamon.
• Michele Joyner-Dinwiddie running in House District 35 (Wake County) against Rep. Mike Schietzelt.
• Lisa Deaton Koperski running in House District 89 (Catawba and Iredell counties) against Rep. Mitchell Setzer.
• Kelly VanHorn running in House District 105 (Mecklenburg County) against Rep. Tricia Cotham.
• Chris Wilson running in House District 117 (Henderson County) against Rep. Jennifer Balkcom.
• Pam Zanni running in House District 81 (Davidson County) against Rep. Larry Potts.

The low $13,951 salary for state lawmakers kept some teachers from running, according to Saylor.

It’s rare for an active teacher to be a lawmaker. But some school districts have made schedule accommodations to allow teachers to serve in the General Assembly.

NC GOP: New group is trying to ‘mislead voters’

The North Carolina Republican Party questioned the group’s motives. The primary occurs during a time when Republicans are one seat shy in the House of gaining a veto-proof legislative majority.

“NC Educators on the Ballot is led by a registered Democrat to interfere and mislead voters in Republican primaries,” the N.C. GOP said in a statement to The N&O. “Republicans have led on education policy for years, from improving classroom performance to expanding school choice for every family.

“Conservative policies are delivering positive results for students, parents, and our education system while the left-wing bureaucracy continues supporting failed ideas and tired rhetoric.”

Saylor and the candidates deny they are trying to mislead voters. Instead, Saylor said the group encouraged people to run in races where they could have an impact on the state.

“With the way our state is carved up into voter districts in a lot of places, the decision about who is going to Raleigh doesn’t happen in the November general election,” Saylor said. “It happens in the March primary. And so if that’s where it’s going to happen, then that’s where these people are entering the conversation and entering the race.”

Kelly VanHorn, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg teacher, described the group’s candidates as moderates.

“We can fit in the middle of either party,” said VanHorn, who is running for House District 105. “But in my district, I have to go where there’s opportunity to win.”

VanHorn had been a registered Democrat before meeting state requirements to register as a Republican to run in the primary. She’s running against Rep. Tricia Cotham, who switched to Republican after winning her legislative seat as a Democrat.

Candidates say public schools are underfunded

The shared reason given by the group’s candidates is their concern that public schools aren’t getting enough funding.

A recently released report from the Education Law Center ranked North Carolina at the bottom nationally in state funding for schools. North Carolina ranks 43rd in the nation in average teacher pay and 39th in beginning teacher pay, according to the National Education Association.

At the same time, the Republican-controlled General Assembly has expanded the Opportunity Scholarship program so that any family can get a private school voucher.

“Are you trying to shut down public education?” said Pam Zanni, a retired teacher running in House District 81. “I mean, is that what your goal is? I don’t understand the idea of underfunding schools, under funding teachers, when you’re talking about your future population.”

All six candidates back the Leandro plan, a court-ordered plan for increasing public education spending to try to provide every student their state constitutional right to a sound, basic education. The plan is on hold while it’s appealed by GOP legislative leaders who say that only lawmakers can order the spending of state money.

Pamela Ayscue is a retired teacher in Vance County Schools, which was one of the original plaintiffs in the Leandro lawsuit when it was filed in 1994.

“We are still waiting,” said Ayscue, who is running for House District 32. “So it’s very personal, because it’s my district that is suffering.”

Candidates say they’re not ‘going to blindly follow’ GOP

If elected, the candidates said they would not blindly toe the Republican Party line on issues.

“We’re not going to be people that do what leadership tells us to do,” Zanni said. “We’re going to be people that represent our districts, our people, our kids, our schools and our teachers, because that’s what our districts deserve. That’s what we’re supposed to be elected for, not to say ‘yes, sir, may I have another.’”

VanHorn said legislators are supposed to “put politics aside and put the people first.’

“I’m not going to blindly follow one party or the other,” VanHorn said. “It depends on the issue and what my district needs.”

Chris Wilson, a Polk County middle school teacher running in House District 117, said having teachers in the legislature will help get things done. North Carolina is the only state that didn’t pass a comprehensive state budget in 2025.

“What group of people learn to compromise more than teachers?” Wilson said. “So if you really want government to work, you probably should hire a lot more women and a lot more teachers, because we have to live in that space where you constantly have to compromise to get to a greater goal.”