The North Carolina Association of Educators has released a list of legislative demands ahead of Wednesday's teacher march and rally, which is expected to draw as many as 15,000 teachers to Raleigh.

The goal of Wednesday's rally is to push for more education funding, including higher teacher salaries, according to NCAE, but the group's president says "the ultimate goal is electing more pro-public education leaders in North Carolina."

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"We have not had a textbook adoption in 15 years. We have school districts deciding whether or not to pay the light bill or buy toilet paper," NCAE President Mark Jewell said. "We have classrooms ... that are 35 students and higher in some instances. This is not normal. This is not the North Carolina way."

North Carolina's education funding and average teacher salary are much-debated topics each year, especially how they compare with other states. North Carolina is currently ranked 37th in the nation for average teacher pay and 39th in per-pupil spending.

Republican leaders in the General Assembly say education funding and teacher salaries are on the right track and point out that teachers will get their fifth consecutive pay raise in the coming budget. House Speaker Tim Moore's office said the estimated average teacher salary next year will be in the neighborhood of $53,400.

In advance of the teacher march and rally, NCAE has listed the following expectations of North Carolina’s lawmakers:

  • Per-pupil spending to the national average in four years
    • A multi-year professional compensation and benefits plan for all educators that includes:
      • Ending experienced educator pay discrimination
      • Average teacher pay to national average in four years
        • Significant and livable raises for all public school employees
          • Restoring advanced-degree pay
            • Restoring longevity pay
              • Annual cost-of-living increase
                • Enhanced and protected health insurance and pension
                  • Ending pay for performance based on test scores, including for administrators
                    • Reinstating career status
                      • Real dedicated planning time and lunch time
                      • Investing in the health and well-being of students and making schools safer including:
                        • At least 500 additional school nurses, social workers, and counselors this year
                      • Improve health options for vulnerable students by expanding Medicaid
                      • Fix crumbling schools and large class sizes with a $1.9 billion statewide school construction bond
                      • No corporate tax cuts until per-pupil spending and teacher pay reach the national average

                        • The rally's organizers said teachers plan to meet with House and Senate members on Wednesday. At least 38 of North Carolina's 115 school districts have closed schools on May 16. More than a dozen buses will be coming to the state capital from across the state.

                        "The response rate has been incredible," Jewell said. "This will be something Raleigh has never seen. It's going to be gridlock."

                        Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger made clear he doesn't approve of the protest plans, noting that teacher strikes are illegal in North Carolina and said "in some respects" this protest looks like a work slowdown and "fairly typical union activity."