“We are the union, the mighty, mighty union!”
These chants echoed outside the Edgecombe County Administrative Building in Tarboro on June 2 as members of the now majority-strong Edgecombe County Association of Educators (ECAE) rallied ahead of the County Commissioners’ public budget hearing.
“We’re rallying for our quality of life,” said Gwendolyn Maryland, a child nutrition specialist in Edgecombe County Public Schools (ECPS). Maryland is one of many dedicated school workers who, despite going above and beyond to support students, is severely underpaid.
“I have three jobs in the ECPS system with one low pay of $15. I am a child nutrition assistant; I’m also a janitor and, I drive the school bus.”
ECAE members gathered to call on County Commissioners to fully fund the ECPS budget proposal put forward by Superintendent Dr. Andy Bryan.
“We want our county commissioners to understand just how critical this budget is,” said ECAE President Marcia Moyd-Williams. “If it’s not fully funded, we risk losing staff members who are only asking for a livable wage.”
Dr. Bryan’s proposal includes essential investments in both compensation and school infrastructure—improvements educators say are long overdue.
“The buildings are crumbling down on top of the children,” said elementary school teacher Shaevondolyn Andrews. “We need this funding to create a safe and healthy learning environment.”
If approved, the budget would:
- Increase the supplement for classified staff (including teacher assistants, cafeteria workers, and custodians) by $1,000
- Provide an 11% supplement for certified staff (teachers)
- Grant bus drivers raises ranging from 7% to 14%
- Allocate $4.4 million toward critical facility repairs
ECAE members filled the hearing to capacity, with many watching from an overflow room. Despite the long wait, the meeting began at 6:00 p.m., but the first ECAE member didn’t speak until 8:56 p.m.
“We didn’t wait for someone else to fix things—we organized,” said one speaker. “Someone has to speak up for our schools, someone has to speak up for our students. We’re speaking with one voice tonight, and we’re asking someone to listen.”
President Marcia Moyd-Williams, one of the final speakers of the evening, originally planned to read prepared remarks but changed course after hearing the commissioners call education a “priority” without committing to the investments educators had called for.
“If we want to invest in Edgecombe in being the best, which I believe that I can be, will be, because we are on the trajectory to be, should be,” she said. “We have got to make sure when we talk about innovation, when we talk about resources and priorities, don’t list that priority, if we’re not going to fund that priority.
