Opinion: Mark Robinson is a threat to public education in North Carolina

Last week, North Carolinians joined millions of Americans across the country in casting primary ballots in advance of the November general election. This year’s election is make or break for North Carolinians like me who have witnessed increased attacks on public education by extremists like the MAGA candidate for governor, Mark Robinson.  

Under Gov. Roy Cooper, our public schools have laid the groundwork for our state being named  the number one state in the country for business two years in a row. Having a strong public education system creates a diverse and well-educated workforce, which leads to better results for our North Carolina economy. That still hasn’t stopped Robinson, North Carolina’s current lieutenant governor, from attacking our schools and hardworking teachers. I’m a first-generation college graduate and a mother who can confirm first hand that North Carolina’s teachers are not “wicked people”  as Robinson asserts. 

 I obtained my degree from the Interpreter Education program at Western Piedmont Community College thanks to federal workforce training programs. I worked two jobs and raised my two young children while studying for my degree, and public education funding took a huge burden off of me. My life and my children’s lives would be totally different if it weren’t for publicly-funded educational opportunities in North Carolina. 

I was able to excel in my program, and in my career since graduation, because of the kindness, expertise, and support of my community college instructors and the public school teachers who helped prepare me for this next step in my education. These are not wicked people, they are public servants who work for measly pay to help the next generation get the knowledge and skills they need to earn a foothold in America’s middle class and our communities. Getting my degree wasn’t easy, but public education made it much more feasible for me to achieve my goals. 

It saddens me to see attacks on the same education system that changed my life and the lives of many others. MAGA Republicans like Mark Robinson don’t care about the single working moms like me, they only care about pushing a radical agenda on us all. 

They want to divert money from public schools to pay for private school vouchers to help the wealthiest families send their children to private schools. Mark Robinson isn’t looking out for us or our children. Whether it’s denying the experiences and attacking victims of school shootings, or calling for a total ban on abortion at the moment of conception with no exceptions, he doesn’t have North Carolinians’ interests at heart.