We, the students of the North Carolina Comprehensive Community College Student Government Association (N4CSGA), would like to thank you for your service and dedication; we appreciate the support you gave the North Carolina Community College System during the long session of 2015. Moreover, we meet here today to advocate for very important members of our Community College System, our staff and teachers.

We strongly believe that the third largest community college system in the nation would not be as successful as it is without the hard work of these individuals, who go above and beyond their duties. As students, we attribute our success to our staff and teachers. They dedicate themselves to mentor and connect us with future employers as well as guide us in continuing our education.

In spite of this hard work and dedication, our community college staff and teachers are among the lowest paid in the Southeast Region. The North Carolina Community College System Office reports that our state's community college salaries are ranked 11th out of the 16 systems, and North Carolina comes in at 10% lower than the national average. Such statistics aren't competitive and will only hurt our citizens in the long run. Therefore, we are asking you to support closing the salary gap for these valued individuals.

Without your support of this salary increase, our state risks losing access to the quality education that will help our economy's continued growth and the community college system is vital to North Carolina's workforce. According to the Southern Regional Education Board, 40% of this state's employees and 52% of its healthcare personnel sought training from our community college system in the last decade. These students saw real results from their education. In 2012 - 2013, their education and training resulted in a total raise in wages of $21.5 billion. Employers benefited too. The efforts to train the state's workforce contributed to 375, 254 jobs in that same year.

As a result, we ask for your continued support to compensate our staff and teachers, who contribute to our state’s economy, as well as, dedicating themselves to mentor us throughout our educational journey. Without these individuals, we would not be able to obtain the careers or transfer to the universities for which they prepare us.