[slideshow_deploy id=’1286′]On Monday, March 11, 2019, four buses pulled out of Cecil County with 145 teachers, support staff, and community members all dedicated to supporting our students and public schools. Their destination was Annapolis where they would meet up with over 8,500 other advocates for public education. Marchers filled the streets wearing red, waving signs, and carrying banners and posters with messages such as, “Our Kids Can’t Wait”, “Fund Our Schools”, “I should be home grading, but my kids deserve better”, “Here To Use My Teacher Voice”, “I AM IM’PARA’TIVE”, “Forty is a Speed Limit, NOT a Class Size!”, and many more.
Guest speakers on stage included Dr. Alvin Thorton, Senator Chris Van Hollen, Parents, Students, and MSEA President Cheryl Bost. The crowd was energized, applauding loudly, ringing bells, and chanting “Fund Our Schools” and “Our Kids Can’t Wait”. Marchers want more funding for public schools and believe that a new funding formula and many of the initiatives in the Kirwan Commission Report need to be implemented soon. PreK funding and expansion, increased teacher salary, living wages for support professionals, increased mental health services, support for students in poverty, students receiving special education services, and ELL students are all priorities.
