(GREENSBORO) -- Gov. Bev Perdue made her first public appearance over the weekend since announcing last week that she would not seek re-election.  At a Democratic fundraiser in Greensboro Saturday night she said her decision to forego a re-election bid stemmed from politics getting in the way of her mission to protect education funding.

The Governor said she believes she can more effectively work to preserve education in the state if she takes politics out of the equation. She faces bitter opposition from the Republican-led legislature.

"I made the decision that what I could do as a candidate would be in some way in jeopardy because people would see this discussion about education as a political discussion.  This is not politics," said Perdue.

State House Speaker Thom Tillis said the Governor's decision not to run for re-election makes no sense. "When has surrender ever been the key to winning a war? And that's really what she has done here," said Tillis.

The Governor counters this type of response by stating emphatically that she is not giving up. "I will fight the biggest battle of my life, which is standing up and making a difference around education," said Perdue.

Perdue, a former teacher, plans to devote her final 11 months in office to press the legislature to pass a three-quarters of a cent sales tax hike for education.