**BUDGET UPDATE** The NC Senate has given final approval to the NC budget and now it heads to the House. Email your State Representative NOW and demand they vote NO!

The proposed budget does almost nothing to put our schools back on track. It will still leave NC teacher salaries nearly $10,000 less than the national average and keeps us well behind 2008 levels for textbooks and TAs. 

This budget was written in secret, behind closed doors and it's obvious why. Not only does it fail to invest in students or educators, it actually raises taxes on middle class families. And it allows more big tax giveaways for major corporations to take effect, further starving our state of critical resources. 

In order to stop the teacher exodus and to give our students the resources they need, we must make a serious investment in public education. This budget fails to do that. Contact your representatives in Raleigh and urge them to vote NO on this budget.