Charlotte Strives to Save Teacher Jobs

Citizens of Charlotte are striving valiantly to save the city’s teachers from losing their jobs. Charlotte Middle School is facing about $100 million in cuts, which are expected to result in the loss of hundreds of teachers. MeckFUTURE, a group that promotes advocacy for educational workers, started a letter writing campaign this week in the city, and they are hoping that parents and other citizens will contribute many heartfelt letters, telling personal stories about how the community’s teachers affect their lives.

Similar campaigns have worked across the country with many different public servants, from fire fighters to police officers, teachers to school board members. That said, facing that many cuts is pretty serious, and if the school could save some jobs it would be a blessing—but having all of the jobs saved doesn’t look like a very probably situation.

Still, it’s nice to see the community coming together to fight for jobs. Though it’s likely because of the profession, which is often romanticized and sometimes rightfully revered, if communities—particularly small local ones—could come together like this over all professions and layoff notices, perhaps we could save even more peoples’ livelihoods. In times like these, banding together as family rather than strangers could mean the difference between losing everything and survival for us all.