GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Five days after thousands of teachers rallied in Raleigh for more education funding, the momentum behind the movement is still building.
"It's important that we stay engaged and we keep the pressure on all along the way," said Todd Warren, President of the Guilford County Education Alliance. He's working to make sure lawmakers are voted in that will pay attention to their demands.
"It's really easy in an election year to say, 'Sure, I support public schools. Yes, I support public education.' But really what we're trying to get down to is the nitty gritty of what they mean by that," Warren said.
The NC Association of Educators is asking politicians and candidates to fill out a survey on what they plan to do during the legislative session.
The survey includes a long list of demands from teachers including an increase in per-student spending to meet the national average in four years, raising average teacher pay to the national average within four years and guaranteeing yearly cost of living adjustments to teacher pay.
Teachers are delivering the surveys to lawmakers in-person. They will be emailing the survey to legislators in the coming weeks if they are unable to set up a face-to-face meeting.
Teachers are also keeping a close eye on education funding at a local level.
Guilford County Commissioners released recommendations for school funding for the next school year. Commissioners are proposing a budget of roughly $616 million dollars. That's around $20 million less than what the school board asked for.