For residents of Western Burke County, myself included, high speed internet is not currently an option. When the shutdown of 2020 occurred, it was nearly impossible to work from home. My husband and I had satellite internet installed that cost $240/month and was very displeased with the service provided. I was often unable to participate in online conference calls or classes with my students. Fast forward to fall of 2021. I was pregnant with our second child and made the decision to begin teaching from home so that I could stay with our infant. I transitioned to an online teaching position with North Carolina Virtual Academy as a K/1 Exceptional Children teacher. This helped alleviate the expensive childcare costs we were facing. However, most days I was having to commute to other locations for access to reliable internet. In the coming school year, our daughter will be attending North Carolina Virtual Academy as well. In light of recent school shootings and the realization that time is quickly passing us by, we felt this is the best option for our family. The one obstacle we face is high speed internet. After speaking with a representative for Senator Daniels, it was brought to my attention that Burke County is classified as a Tier 1 county through the federal RDOF grant. Charter Communication company is an approved organization listed on this grant. I have expressed interest and concern with them and have not received definitive answers about the timeline of when high speed internet could be brought to our area. The sole purpose of this grant is to bring high speed internet to rural areas, and yet this has not begun. Western Burke county is a rural area embedded with a variety of businesses, agriculture and families in need of reliable internet. Please sign this petition and plan to join me at the Burke County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, June 21st at 6:00 pm.