Teachers’ group running anti-Tillis ad in NC

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A political spending arm of the nation’s largest teachers’ union is spending $1.7 million for a commercial in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race critical of House Speaker Thom Tillis on public school spending.

The National Education Association said the commercial began running Friday and will continue for a week in six leading television markets. It’s also going online.

The NEA Advocacy Fund commercial features Chapel Hill High School teacher Vivian Connell saying cuts during Tillis’ speaker tenure have caused larger class sizes and fewer textbooks. Tillis’ campaign and allies have countered that education spending has grown and class sizes have decreased.

The North Carolina Association of Educators is the NEA’s state affiliate. NCAE does not have collecting bargaining rights. Tillis and NCAE have been at odds for years.

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