On Tuesday Wes Long, political newcomer and Republican nominee for State House District 27, announced a plan to cut his legislative pay if elected and create a non-profit to aid teachers in purchasing classroom supplies. Long was joined by fellow Republican nominee for the State House Kerry Rich (HD 26) and Republican State Senate candidate Clay Scofield (SD 9), who have both signed on with Long to provide this innovative solution that will benefit teachers and students throughout their legislative districts.
If elected, Long, Rich and Scofield have made a commitment to cut their salaries in any given year that the education budget must be prorated due to a decrease in revenue. Long’s approach is in stark contrast to the actions of Democrats in the Legislature who recently voted themselves a 62% pay raise.
Long noted that while the Democrats were voting to give themselves a pay raise, Alabama teachers were being forced to spend their personal money to purchase supplies for their students. The group also felt that parents of students are already doing their part to equip their children with supplies, and that leaves the community to shore up the difference in times of need.
“Much has been made about the 62% pay raise that Democrats in the Legislature voted to give themselves with taxpayer dollars,” said Wes Long, Republican nominee in Alabama’s 27th House District. “We believe that pay raise was wrong, and in a time when many Alabamians are struggling to make ends meet and our education budget is shrinking, it is morally reprehensible and fiscally irresponsible.”
“I wanted to come up with a solution that would not only demonstrate that I fundamentally disagree with the legislative pay raise, but that would also relieve some of the financial burden on teachers,” Long added. “We also recognize that parents are shouldering a lot of the burden on school supplies already, so that leaves us and the community to fill in the holes so that our children have all of the tools needed for success.”
Long announced at the press conference that he and his colleagues will form a non-profit organization that is solely devoted to providing relief to teachers. The non-profit will receive funding through the sacrifices that each of the Republican nominees has agreed to make and cut their salaries if elected.
“I jumped at the chance to join this initiative because it is time to move Alabama forward, time to move each community in our districts forward and create more jobs for our citizens,” noted Clay Scofield, Republican Nominee in State Senate District 9. “We believe that those jobs are priority number 1, but it starts in the classroom and we must ensure that our teachers have every tool that they need.”
“We appreciate Wes bringing this idea to us and certainly believe that these are the kinds of innovative approaches to government that a Republican majority will bring to the Legislature,” Scofield added.
For his part, Kerry Rich (HD 26) also thanked Wes Long for stepping up and taking action to assist teachers with their needs. Rich noted that the three Republican nominees are committed to being representatives of the people in their districts who want to put government back into the hands of the citizens.
“I have always believed that elected officials should put the people they represent before themselves,” Rich said. “That is the way government should work, but unfortunately not the way it has been working in Montgomery and we hope to regain the trust of the people.”
“We want teachers to know that we recognize this problem, and that we are taking a proactive approach to alleviate some of their burden,” Rich added.
