Remindng the governor, Teaching is an honorable profession

I am a teacher. I had no choice; both parents, two siblings and their spouses were in education in some capacity. If a gene exists for teaching, it runs rampant in my family. Of course that gene usually goes with the "struggling middle class" and the "you ain't never going to be rich" genes. Teachers know and accept such terms because Teaching is an honorable profession.
Teachers have long endured low pay; for decades it was the norm in North Carolina. I timed a career change rather well for near the beginning of this decade, NC's leadership, the governor and the GA, made increasing teacher pay a priority. During those heady days, NC creeped up to nearly 20th or so in rankings of teacher salary. Our current leadership has reversed that trend, forgetting, it would seem, that Teaching is an honorable profession.
Not only has the our current governor reversed that trend that had teachers from other states actually looking to relocate to NC to teach, but teachers were denied their pay scale step increases this school year. Respect for the shapers of our future would seem to be fleeting for, not only do we carry tomorrow on our backs, now we balance budgets there as well. For Teaching is an honorable profession.
But our governor was not content to merely withhold promised raises, we had current salaries docked towards the end of last year. Combined with denying our step increases, this saved the state something like $80 million dollars. I seem to recall an error in constructing a section of I-40 in RTP costing $50 million a year or two ago. With the catchwords "accountability" and "leadership and "reform" bouncing around in education these days, I would think that such ideas might rub off on those fonts of wisdom in government from which those catchwords spring. A teacher who lost the equivalent of $50 million dollars in students (pardon the equation) would be shown the door, for Teaching is an honorable profession.
We are now underpaid, expected to do more with less, have less hope of havng talented young people join us and count the days, months and (sigh) years to retirement, a retirement many teachers put off for years because Teaching is not just what they do, it's who they are. Teaching, afterall, is an honorable profession.
Here is the price that you will pay, governor, the karmic wheel will turn. Many teachers, myself included, are politically active. We have many contacts in our communities and are generally well regarded, have some influence, take leadership positions. We helped elect you in 2008. All it would take is for there to be one or two such active people, now disillusioned, in each county and thousands of those 2008 votes could disappear or even swing to the other side. In 2012, unless the ebb tide you set in motion has turned, I will not help reelect you. I may well vote for you (or not) as the lesser of two evils, but I will not put out any signs, promote events, canvass and/or poll watch for you. You are messing with my life, governor, professionally and personally. You have been in Raleigh too long; you have forgotten the classroom. But I am there everyday, and I will continue to help as many students as I can; I will do my best not to abandon them as you have abandoned us. For as a Teacher, I understand, far better than you it would seem, that Teaching is an honorable profession.