The Raleigh News & Observer reports that 14 people were arrested Wednesday in a teachers’ union-sponsored protest against North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s education policies.
A group of protesters sponsored by the state teachers’ union, the North Carolina Association of Educators, walked 23 miles from Durham to the state capitol, hoping to meet with McCrory. The governor was occupied, but offered to arrange a meeting with two of his top aides.
When the group arrived at the Capitol building, it was locked. Instead of giving up, 14 of the protesters sat in the middle of a nearby intersection. Two senior members of McCrory’s staff went outside to meet with the group, but didn’t want to meet with them in the street. “We usually prefer not to hold meetings in the intersection of a main road,” McCrory spokesman Josh Ellis said.
The protesters want the state’s budget surplus to be spent on education, as well as Medicaid expansion.
Police say the group “declined to follow multiple directives to disperse.” Twelve of the 14 said they worked for public schools.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
