WHEREAS, Forsyth County is committed to strong public schools that ensure safe, nurturing, and academically rigorous learning environments; and 

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WHEREAS, educators and school workers are the most valuable resource we have in supporting the social, emotional, and academic growth of our students; and 

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WHEREAS, education support personnel are the only state employees in NC without a minimum base wage of at least $15/hour; and 

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WHEREAS, North Carolina’s investment in our students and schools has dropped from 52.5% of our state budget in 1970 to just 39% of the state budget in the 2017-18 school year1; and 

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WHEREAS, the NC General Assembly has increasingly shifted the burden of Public School funding to local County Governments, which in 2015 appropriated 24% of all funding for NC public schools, compared to 21.5% in 1998;2 and 

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WHEREAS, Local governments fund 97% of school repair and construction in North Carolina, as the General Assembly has not approved a state bond for K-12 capital needs since 1996, and eliminated the NC Public School Building Capital Fund in 20133; and 

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WHEREAS, revenue for K-12 school funding can be raised more efficiently and equitably at the statewide level by the General Assembly than by individual counties, yet many rural and lower wealth counties have had to raise local tax rates to support students and school workers;