Caffeinated Rage

Carolina Forward On Tuesday, Sheriff Sam Page defeated Phil Berger, the Republican Senate leader, by just 2 votes. There are now provisional ballots to review, and a recount surely to come. Who oversees that...

For a man who spent over $10 million to win a primary in a district that he specifically gerrymandered for himself, Berger will not be conceding anything soon. He’s willing to drag this out for months – like passing a budget for the state or expanding Medicaid.

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Almost $12 Million Spent & 2 Votes Short? The Civics Class Taught By Sen. Phil Berger Something tells me that Phil Berger would have spent another 10-12 million dollars for a couple of more votes. But that would be less money for other cronies around the state to spend in their gene…

Considering that 12 million dollars would equate to around $500 per vote in a primary for a 13-term state senator who makes a base salary of under $14K per annum, that’s a steep price to pay just to stay in office.

Why is that so important to Phil?

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The Average NC Teacher Salary Is $58,292? Here’s Why That’s Shameful And Still Grossly Misleading. According to the last annual NEA Report on Educator Pay in 2025: And here is what is reported for NC. $15,000+ below the national average is terrible to begin with and average increases are lower t…

Another reason for Phil Berger to lose his election.

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What If NC Raised Investment Into NC Public Schools Every Time It Allowed Duke Energy To Raise Its Rates Do a Google search for “duke energy rate hikes over last ten years” and see what the initial AI results show. Interesting. “Cumulative Impact: Recent, consecutive increases mean r…

Imagine if the NC General Assembly empowered its public schools the way that it enables Duke Energy.

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What’s Happening In Wisconsin Is Exactly What People Like Phil Berger Want To Do In NC In Wisconsin almost 70 public schools have closed in the last two years alone. That report states, “The closures come as school districts grapple with high costs, state-imposed revenue limits…

And NC is doing more to hurt its public schools.

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February 2026- Numbers To Consider The most current numbers for the following: SNAP Recipients Average Gas Price Average Milk Price Average Egg Prices Average Bread Price Average Beef Price Consumer Confidence Presidential Approval …

And local school systems are starting to put together next year's budgets.

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Every Public School Advocate Needs To Know About The “House Select Committee on Property Tax Reduction and Reform” The top story from today’s print version of the Winston-Salem Journal featured what could be one of the biggest threats to public school funding this state could enact under the guise of fisc…

Phil Berger is the man keeping NC from a new state budget while funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into unregulated private school vouchers. And he wants to control local property taxes that fund social services for each county?

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One Of The Best Explanations Of NC’s Horrible School Voucher Program One of the reasons why Tricia Cotham should never be reelected. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carolina Forward (@carolina.forward)

I blame Tricia Cotham.

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Over 7,400 NC Teacher Assistants Lost Since 2008 North Carolina has over 7400 fewer teacher assistants than it did over a decade ago. Let me repeat: North Carolina has over 7400 fewer teacher assistants than it over ten years ago. When study…

If Berger wants to make the argument that he needs a staff / team of assistants (many of whom make six-digit salaries), then he would have to acknowledge that schools need teacher assistants as well.

caffeinatedrage.com/2026/02/08/o...

If You Don’t Do Politics, Then Politics Will Do You In the state of North Carolina, over 56% of the state budget is dedicated to public education, most of which goes to K-12 (and pre-K) education. It’s specifically stated in Article IX of the state …

Education is a political issue.

Teachers and public school advocates should be political as well; therefore, vote.

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It’s Groundhog Day And “Gerrymander Phil” Saw His Shadow Punxsutawney Phil apparently saw his shadow this morning therefore predicting an early spring. NC has its own Phil, one who is the prognosticator of bad budgets and ill policies named “Gerrymander …

He always sees his shadow because he focuses only on matters that affect him and those who share his ideologies. And nothing is as like him as his own shadow.

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No NC Teacher, You Probably Will Not Get “Back Pay” For This School Year For those teachers who might be waiting for a new budget to pass this school year and any raises for teachers that should be included in that new budget to be reimbursed through “back pay” (like pa…

The longer that Phil Berger keeps a new budget from passing in the state, the more money that the state does not have to pay teachers.

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Do You Know What Happened With LEANDRO Yesterday? Absolutely nothing. It’s the deliberate inaction by the majority party on the bench. And there is probably some genetics involved. If this guy can stop the state budget process… ……

It’s the deliberate inaction by the majority party on the bench.

And there is probably some genetics involved.

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There Are Other Things FROZEN In NC For Public Educators Here is the salary schedule that is in place for the 2025-2026 school year. And before you say, “Hey! That’s the salary schedule for 2024-2025, not 2025-2026.” Actually it is beca…

It's going to take a lot of teachers getting really heated to thaw this all out.

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Don’t Forget About Leandro – It’s On The Ballot Whether You Know It or Not Take a look at this video. And this printable fact sheet is a good resource as well. It’s a big reason why we need to re-elect Anita Earls to the NC State Supreme Court in 2026.

It’s a big reason why we need to re-elect Anita Earls to the NC State Supreme Court in 2026.

caffeinatedrage.com/2026/01/28/d...

January 2026- Numbers To Consider Note: The numbers for November and December in 2025 were not published on the blog because of government shutdown delays in reporting for a couple of indexes. The most current numbers for the follo…

And NC is still the only state in the country without a new budget for this year.

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Forgive Me WSFCS, But It’s Hard Believe You Will Listen To Us When a headline like this appears in the Winston-Salem Journal, it reminds anyone vested in public education that next year’s budget is already in the works. It says, “a shift from how …

Remember the last time they supposedly used a survey to get input?

The overwhelming majority of respondents to that survey concerning the school calendar voted to keep it as it was.

And they still voted to go back to the traditional “state mandated” one.

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How Local Supplements For Teachers Are Propagandized By West Jones Street (Average Teacher Salary Vs. Percentage Raise) Look at the average teacher salary in North Carolina. Then look at the average pay increase that Raleigh may be giving to teachers in a certain budget cycle. Those two values are not looking at the…

Many districts may have upped their local supplement total, but remember that the state has not passed a new budget which means that teachers salaries are frozen, but the “average teacher pay” could have actually could have risen due to local supplement changes.

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And The Golden Globe For MOST DYSFUNCTIONAL BOE Goes To… …the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County School Board and its dramatic sequel to last month’s meeting in which a new chairperson and vice-chairperson are not elected because of partisan poli…

WSFCS will lose teachers because of what happened tonight. There will be many professionals who refuse to work in this district if something does not change for the better.

caffeinatedrage.com/2026/01/13/a...

The Most Important Political Race In 2026 For Public Education Think of LEANDRO. Think of district mapping. Think of voting rights. And think of what this guy tried to do to get a place here. In the scope of things, the most important election in 2026 may not …

Anita Earls needs to be reelected.

caffeinatedrage.com/2025/12/31/t...

No One Has Hurt Public Schools In NC More Than Phil Berger Senator Phil Berger has done more to try and dismantle public schools in North Carolina than any other person in this state. In the past fifteen years, Berger has spearheaded as many attacks agains…

And remember that Berger has made sure that NC is the only state in the country to not have a new budget keeping schools on last year's budget numbers.

And he's going to make sure it stays that way so that teachers won't get back pay.

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The Grinch Who Stole The US Dept. Of Education (Among Other Things) You can’t make this up. That’s the same grinch who had to do this because of other things that were stolen from under the tree. And I’m pretty sure that the font on that sequined …

And I'm pretty sure that the font on that sequined jacket is not Time New Roman.

caffeinatedrage.com/2025/12/13/t...

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen” unless it is a school board meeting. From Bible Hub, specifically Matthew 6:6: So here is another explanation of why the WSFCS school system went into so much debt: “Not long after we kicked God off the dais, as we may phrase it…

The financial crisis in WSFCS started in 2017. Three years before the pandemic. Four superintendents ago. Three school boards ago. Four Chief Financial Officers ago. And lots of turnover.

And almost a hundred opening prayers of public school board meetings ago.

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You Lyin’ Son-of-a-Biscuit Eater. You’ve Had Over 12 Years To “Fix” Teacher Pay (& Public Education). Take a look at this social media post. These are the same people who came at the request of Phil Berger, redrew congressional maps to gain an extra House seat, and passed it without debate – …

These are the same people who came at the request of Phil Berger, redrew congressional maps to gain an extra House seat, and passed it without debate – ALL WITHIN 48 HOURS – who can’t even get a state budget passed over the span of months.

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Budget Process: Frozen. Salary Steps: Frozen. Insurance Premiums? NOT Frozen. Remember that this state has yet to pass a new budget; therefore, educators are on the same salary schedule as last school year. And it is not likely we will see a new budget until the summer. It&#…

So a salary schedule that already has frozen steps that is still frozen in last year's budget constraints is supposed to accommodate a hike in health insurance costs for educators?

caffeinatedrage.com/2025/12/04/b...

One Thing To Not Be Thankful For In NC: Tricia Cotham Remember when Tricia Cotham’s soulless exoskeleton offered something in that “lame chicken” session that occurred about one year ago: lies about the voucher scheme that had just siphoned off even m…

And she's part of that group that refuses to pass a new state budget.

caffeinatedrage.com/2025/11/24/o...

The Woman Who Has No IDEA And Thinks AI Is Steak Sauce Says We Are Not Professional When the top public education official in the country mistakes technology for a classic condiment, then you know that she has trouble identifying a professional. Also, remember that in a 2025 Fox N…

Ironic that the woman who calls us “nonprofessionals” wanted to be a “nonprofessional” herself.

caffeinatedrage.com/2025/11/22/t...

Dear NC Teacher, Please Know This About Your State. AND TELL OTHERS! In a state where there exists a supermajority in one chamber of the NC General Assembly and nearly another in the other chamber all while there is a governor from the opposite political party, then…

No graduate degree pay. No due process rights. No collective bargaining rights. Frozen pay scales. No new state budget. No longevity pay.

Compare this to other states in the southeast and the nation.

caffeinatedrage.com/2025/11/16/d...

North Carolina: Where The Same People Who Hike Public University Tuition… …will not even pass a new state budget to address rising costs for public K-12 schools. So this just happened: Just a quick reminder of how the current rendition of the UNC Board of Governors…

And consider how much unregulated vouchers have been expanded.

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As We Wait For A New Budget, Remember That Teachers Used To Receive Longevity Pay Not long ago (2014) , teachers who served the state for at least ten years would receive what was called “longevity” pay as part of their commitment to public schools. In fact, all full-time state …

Not long ago (2014) , teachers who served the state for at least ten years would receive what was called “longevity” pay as part of their commitment to public schools. In fact, all full-time state employees receive this – or did.
Teachers no longer get it.

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