Forsyth County teachers, staff and community members piled onto buses early Friday morning to head to Raleigh for the May 1 "Kids Over Corporations" protest.
Three of those on the bus share a special bond.
“I was his seventh-grade teacher. Walkertown Middle School," said Colleen Lanier, a retired Language Arts teacher, talking about Matthew Poston, sitting next to her. "Still proud of him, so it's great to see him here in this leadership role.”
Poston went on to teach at the very same school and helped organize the protest.
“Ms. Lanier instilled passion into me for reading," Poston said.
And one seat over, sat one of his former students, Sofi Gerringer, who teaches band at Walkertown now, too.
“Seeing the chain continue — that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a teacher because ... I wanted to share the inspiration that my teachers shared with me," Gerringer said. "And it's incredible. It just feels like a full circle.”
They joined thousands of school workers from across the state at Halifax Mall, advocating for the legislature to increase funding for public education.
"We don't have a budget, and our people are struggling," said Exceptional Children Teacher Lee Childress. "And a report came out yesterday that we'll see the first decrease of any state in this country in pay and in resources because they have not passed the budget. So it's time."
Southeast Middle School Media Coordinator Dana Dehart says she's seen the struggle, too.
"I see the effects on every classroom and every student in the school from lack of funding for both the students and funding to have adequate staff," Dehart said.
K-12 educators weren't the only ones on the bus, either.
Wake Forest University Librarian Jemma Johnson said she attended the protest because she's passionate about public education.
"And the fact that there isn't enough being done for kids and teachers and supporting the most important part of what our tax dollars go to," Johnson said.
Forsyth County Association of Educators President Jenny Easter said, "Our children come first, no matter what."
"And if we can't afford to keep our public schools running the way they should, they need to do something different," Easter added. "And what that means is to not drop the corporate tax rate to zero. That's what we're fighting for. "
North Carolina is currently working to phase out the corporate income tax by 2030. Educators at the protest called for an end to that plan, arguing that corporate taxes should be used to better fund public schools.
“We know that our students deserve more, and we know the gap between what they deserve and what they actually receive is showing up in ways that we can't ignore," said Shana Richards, a school counselor in Guilford County.
Three senators filed a bill in the state legislature Thursday called the “Kids Over Corporations Act,” which would set the corporate income tax rate at 5%.
It states that “sustained investment in public education and workforce development is essential to the State's economic competitiveness.”
Many school districts are struggling financially this year. And just last month, the state supreme court reversed the Leandro decision, which would have required the legislature to pour billions of dollars into public education.
After several speakers highlighted issues of underfunding, the massive crowd marched through downtown Raleigh, chanting and holding signs.
Among them was Ronnie Pugh, an elementary school teacher in Wake County and former Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools student.
He says he showed up for the kids he teaches, and ended up running into about four of his own former educators.
"As soon as I heard there was a march, I knew I had to be there, just because funding is awful for North Carolina," Pugh said. "And also, it feels amazing to be here with previous teachers from my county when I was younger."
