public school funding
State lawmaker: NC must resist the ongoing radical overhaul of its public schools
In the past, North Carolina has been a leader in the South and the nation on education because we knew that investing in education is the best way to ensure a strong economy supporting working families. Unfortunately, our public schools are under assault, and the current Republican majority at the General Assembly is considering extreme […]
144 organizations sign onto brief asking Supreme Court to order compliance with school funding plan
Attorneys filed an amicus (or “friend of the court”) brief endorsed by a coalition of 144 education, civil rights, philanthropic, and community-based organizations with the North Carolina Supreme Court this week in the long-running Leandro school funding lawsuit. The brief was filed by lawyers with the law firm Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey and Leonard and […]
Budget bill sent to Cooper puts NC’s controversial school voucher program on path to dramatic expansion
Big hike would come at same time traditional public schools are grappling with funding challenges and staffing shortfalls State lawmakers may regret the decision to stuff millions of additional dollars into the state’s underutilized school voucher program, Rep. Rachel Hunt warned last week. The Mecklenburg County Democrat said the feeling of remorse will likely come over them in August...
Leandro plan provides a golden opportunity for progress and common ground on school choice
In January, Governor Roy Cooper surprised many by issuing an official proclamation recognizing School Choice Week. The proclamation had long been a priority of school choice advocates in North Carolina such as the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools, which viewed the gesture as “an olive branch.”
Judge’s order to up school funding is legally, practically, and morally correct
It’s about time. What took so long? Better late than never. Those are some of the obvious reactions that caring and thinking people have had in recent days to last week’s order from state Superior Court Judge David Lee directing state legislators to pry open the state’s massive savings account and pony up the first $1.7 billion-plus installment toward bringing the state’s broken public school system into compliance with the state constitution.
Without legislative action NC schools could soon lose $132 million
The pandemic has created untold new challenges for our public schools. From managing multiple modes of delivery, being forced into making public health decisions, absorbing abuse from unhinged parents, addressing widespread student trauma, and coping with widespread staff vacancies…the last thing our schools need is for lawmakers to add to their plate. But if the […]
Monday Numbers: A closer look at deadline day for the Leandro public schools mandate
It’s now been nearly a quarter-century since the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Leandro lawsuit that state leaders were violating the constitutional rights of thousands of schoolchildren – particularly in the state’s poorest counties – by failing to provide them with access to a sound basic education.
Dire school bus driver shortage is emblematic of the GOP-authored crisis in our public schools
Zac Campbell paused suddenly and took a minute to gather himself, while colleagues shuffled toward him to touch his back in support. The emotion that can sometimes accompany the act of baring one’s soul in front of a phalanx of TV cameras, photographers, and notepad-bearing journalists on a controversial matter of public policy had briefly caught up with the veteran Wake County school bus driver.
As judicial-legislative collision looms, path forward in providing NC students with a constitutional education is clear
A momentous clash between North Carolina’s General Assembly and the state’s judicial system looks to be coming to a head. At stake is the ability of the state’s public schools to meet the needs of all students – specifically, those students who live in communities where the proper financing of schools can be an overwhelming challenge.
Public School Forum: Legislature’s support for public education falls short once again
In case you missed it over the weekend, the good people at the Public School Forum of North Carolina issued a powerful critique last Friday of the General Assembly’s coronavirus relief package and its failure to adequately support public education. As the authors note, while lawmakers took some necessary and welcome steps, they also diverted […]