Teachers urge county to prioritize education funding; council told to support state wage and class-size bills

Several educators and residents addressed the Dorchester County Council during public comment, asking the county to make education a top budget priority and to support state measures they said would help retain support staff.

Melissa Ray, who identified herself as president of Dorchester Educators, told the council teachers and support staff are stretched thin by growing class sizes and rising workloads and said "invest in us. Believe in us. Fully fund and support in the county budget, public education in Dorchester County." Deanna Green and Shangela Sisco echoed those concerns, adding that cafeteria staff, bus drivers and office personnel also deserve attention and improved pay. Sisco asked the council to consider a letter of support for state bills discussed at the meeting, including a minimum-wage measure for education support professionals and legislation allowing jurisdictions to bring class-size issues to collective bargaining.

Why it matters: Council members heard the request ahead of the FY27 budget-workshop schedule and encouraged speakers to submit detailed materials to the school board and superintendent; the council said it meets monthly with school leadership and will accept submitted documentation for budget consideration.

What council said: The chair thanked educators for their presentations and asked that written materials be provided to the council office so members and staff can review them for the budget process. Council members reaffirmed education as a priority to be discussed during upcoming workshops.

The public comment session included multiple requests to post the council's background documents online to improve transparency and public engagement.