leandro
Rev. Suzanne Parker Miller on vouchers and the failure to adequately fund NC’s public schools
Some big and controversial changes are afoot in public education. Under legislation advanced by Republican lawmakers, North Carolina will soon enact a massive expansion of its hotly debated voucher program that will, for the first time, subsidize the tuition paid by wealthy families to private and parochial schools. What’s more, this change comes at the […]
State Rep. Julie von Haefen on a bevy of bills that threaten to undermine public education
This past week was crossover week at the North Carolina General Assembly – the legislature’s self-imposed deadline for passing bills to keep them eligible during the 2023 session. It’s an event that helped turn the steady stream of backward-looking bills that have been winning approval from the Republican supermajorities into a virtual torrent. Fortunately, despite […]
NC Gov. Cooper presents budget proposal with 18% average raises for teachers
Gov. Roy Cooper released his proposed $32.9 billion state budget that includes hefty raises for teachers that he said would raise average teacher salaries to No.1 in the Southeast. Teachers and principals would see average salary increases of 18% over two years under the plan Cooper presented Wednesday. His budget also restores master’s pay for […]
Facing legislative headwinds, State Board will ask lawmakers for funds to implement Leandro plan
Request enjoys bipartisan support, but state Superintendent is notably silent The State Board of Education has agreed to ask lawmakers to support the “full implementation” of a court-approved school improvement plan during 2023 budget deliberations. The state board and other supporters of the Comprehensive Plan believe it can transform North Carolina’s system of K-12 education and nudge the state toward its constitutional mandate to provide children with sound basic education.
Why are School Choice Week’s loudest supporters opposed to expanding school choice?
School choice week is upon us once again. Groups of lawmakers, advocates, and school leaders will praise General Assembly leadership for dramatically expanding school choice over the past decade. They will thank legislative leaders for increasing the number of charter schools and creating voucher programs that now give families earning over $100,000 per year over […]
Leandro, ‘merit pay’ for teachers, role of superintendent and state board dominate NC education debates in 2022
North Carolina’s public schools won a key victory in November when the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling and ordered the General Assembly to fork over millions of dollars to pay for a long overdue school improvement plan. The court order in the landmark Leandro school funding case was highly anticipated, and many believe the most important news to emerge on the education front in North Carolina in 2022.
Two new reports confirm gross inadequacy of North Carolina’s public school funding
North Carolina’s school funding system is among the worst in the nation, according to two new reports from the nation’s leading school finance experts. New reports from the Albert Shanker Institute (ASI) and the Education Law Center (ELC) assess every state’s school funding systems across multiple quality measures. Both reports reach the same conclusion: North […]
Let’s hit pause on half-baked teacher performance pay proposal
The November 30th State Board of Education meeting will be the most consequential in some time. The Board will determine whether to recommend radically overhauling how to certify and pay the state’s 93,000 teachers. At question is whether the Board will move forward with an ambitious performance pay plan called Pathways to Excellence. The plan […]
Expert report details the high cost of charter schools
Retired Duke University professor Sunny Ladd has published an incredibly important and useful paper detailing the high cost of charter schools. “How Charter Schools Undermine Good Education Policymaking” details the ways charter schools undermine four core goals of education policy: Establishing coherent systems of schools Attending to child poverty and disadvantage Limiting racial segregation and […]
NC Budget & Tax Center fiscal policy analyst Suzy Khachaturyan explains why state budget writers have only worsened the negative impacts of inflation on public employees and the services they provide
Read: Missing the mark for North Carolina: 2022-23 state budget fails to address the many effects of inflation
State Supreme Court asked to direct NC lawmakers to fully fund Leandro education plan
After 28 years of legal wrangling, North Carolina’s lawmakers continue to fail children by not adequately funding public schools, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the long-running Leandro school funding case told the State Supreme Court on Wednesday.