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9 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 Our teachers have been underpaid for too long. Please cover the state-mandated pay <br /> 3 raise so that the school district won't have to cut teaching positions yet again. <br /> 4 <br /> 5 The school system has been cut to the bone. We know the problem is coming from the <br /> 6 state legislature, so we must also demand they restore the necessary funding, and 1 <br /> 7 promise to help in that. But in the meantime, we must cover their negligence. The <br /> 8 education of our children is the most important role of government. We cannot make our <br /> 9 children and their teachers suffer because of the poor support from the state. <br /> 10 1 support any necessary tax increase to cover this. We have to do it. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 Thank you, <br /> 13 Dan Bernard <br /> 14 Kingston Drive <br /> 15 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 <br /> 16 <br /> 17 Dear Commissioners, <br /> 18 <br /> 19 1 want to thank you for your ongoing support of the CHCCS schools, and I want to share <br /> 20 with you a brief glimpse of what our schools do each day that is so much more than <br /> 21 academics. <br /> 22 <br /> 23 The other day, my kindergartener, Jacob, and I were reading a book in The Magic Tree <br /> 24 House series. For those of you who haven't had the privilege of reading this series <br /> 25 aloud to your children, let me enlighten you. Two children, Jack and Annie, travel back in <br /> 26 time to various points in history to do magical good deeds. In this particular book they <br /> 27 were visiting Charles Dickens. While Jack and Annie--who is disguised as a boy--are <br /> 28 working as chimney sweeps, they are unable to catch a ride because of their dirty <br /> 29 clothes. My six year old stopped after this event and said very clearly, "Mom, it seems <br /> 30 like white skinned boys get everything they want." I was unsure how to continue, so 1 <br /> 31 said, "What makes you say that?" Jacob proceeded to refer back to several other Magic <br /> 32 Tree House books. "Well, when they visited Louis Armstrong in New Orleans, they had <br /> 33 to ride on the back of the bus with him because he was dark skinned. And then when <br /> 34 they went to Ireland in olden times, Annie wasn't allowed to do things because she was <br /> 35 a girl, not a boy. And now even when Annie is dressed like a boy, but she looks poor <br /> 36 because of her dirty clothes, no one will give them a ride. They only get what they need <br /> 37 when they are clean white skinned boys. <br /> 38 <br /> 39 1 stared for a minute with my mouth opened wide. "What do you think about that? <br /> 40 "Well, Miss Barbie at school teaches us about tolerance and how things weren't always <br /> 41 fair. And this isn't fair. What about if you had medium skin, or were different in another <br /> 42 way? It's not OK that just being a white skinned boy means you get to do things easily <br /> 43 and have what you want. You know Mom, it's like that in a lot of books...." And he began <br /> 44 to tell me more about books he had read in school where the main characters were only <br /> 45 boys. And how there should be more medium and dark skinned kids in books and how <br /> 46 there are no dark skinned girls in books and how that's not fair, etc. It went on and on. <br /> 47 1 tell you this story, not to brag about my own child, but to share a snapshot of the <br /> 48 immeasurable value of what our schools are doing. He did not get this from me. He got <br /> 49 this from the brilliant work of guidance counselors, teachers, teaching assistants, and <br /> 50 support staff. Sure, they are teaching the standards in science, math, social studies, <br /> 51 and reading. This kindergartener used three separate texts to support the issue of white <br />