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Teachers, union and students press commissioners for stronger local school funding and staffing
Summary
Educators, union leaders and student speakers told the board the county must restore positions and funding lost in recent years, emphasizing that staffing and support services — not only money alone — determine student outcomes and that local supplements for schools should be prioritized.
Representatives of the Alamance‑Burlington Association of Educators and students urged commissioners to prioritize school funding and staffing when the county considers its upcoming budget.
Medora Burke Skoll, president of the local educators' association, cited rankings and vacancy data to argue that schools lack staff to deliver interventions and that positions lost in recent years — such as MTSS specialists and literacy coaches — should be restored. "What I hear unanimously and overwhelmingly from administrators and educators is that they need people," she said.
Tabika Basa, vice president of the association and a teacher in the county, described classroom pressures caused by vacancies and by teachers covering multiple specialized classes. Student Sarah Jones, who will graduate in June, told the board she plans to return to teach in Alamance County and urged investment in student support services — nurses, counselors and classroom aides — so a quality educator workforce can be retained.
Commissioners acknowledged the district’s funding challenges, discussed the county’s historic supplement levels and noted that state funding decisions remain a major variable for local budgets. Several commissioners recommended continued examination of revenue options, including an optional sales‑tax increase dedicated to schools, and told staff to factor school obligations and debt‑service commitments into budget planning.
