This afternoon, Wake County Public School System announced that they will be canceling classes on Wednesday, May 1. The sudden cancellation is due to the fact that there is a large protest scheduled for May 1, and many teachers have requested the day off. The protest is being held in order to encourage pay raises and expanded health care for teachers in North Carolina.

 There are five specific demands that teachers plan to march for in front of the General Assembly, specifically regarding teacher pay and expanded Medicaid. In the realm of teacher pay, our teachers are requesting a $15 minimum wage for all employees, as well as a 5% raise for all non-certified staff and a 5% cost of living increase for all retired staff members. In addition to the previous requests, teachers will also be marching for higher pay for teachers with Master’s Degrees and reinstatement of retirement benefits for all teachers who were hired after 2021. Teachers will also be advocating for the state to make room in the education budget to hire more librarians, social workers, psychologists, counselors and nurses in public schools. Lastly, the group is asking to expand Medicaid coverage for at least 800,000 more North Carolinians.

 In addition to Wake County, schools in Guilford County, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, Durham County, Chapel Hill-Carrboro,  Lexington City and Orange County will also be taking the day off. Since Wake County is the largest county in North Carolina, more than 160,000 will be missing class on May 1. NC Superintendent Mark Johnson has publicly criticized the fact that the event is being held on a school day due to the fact that students have already missed many school days earlier this year as a result of inclement weather.

 Luckily for students, no makeup day will be required.  It is important to remember that our teachers are not taking a day off and will be spending the day marching to improve their benefits which will in turn benefit students. As for students, we will be able to enjoy a day off just in time for AP exams to begin the following week.