Kelly Hinchcliffe and Liz Bell, WRAL
More than 10,000 teachers from across North Carolina are expected to protest in Raleigh next Wednesday to ask lawmakers for higher pay and more education funding. One person who won’t be there – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson.
Johnson has remained relatively quiet about next week’s protest, but he took reporters’ questions about the topic during an event in Winston-Salem on Monday where he was announcing a new literacy initiative.
“I do not plan to attend a protest on a school day,” Johnson said, explaining that he “absolutely” supports teachers but that the protest affects others.