December 7, 2024

[1]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org
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Dear Friends of Public Education

The legislative budgets for the past decade have not been kind to public
schools and in the past four years they have been especially damaging.
Salary increases for public school educators have been virtually
nonexistent at the same time funding for private school vouchers has been
massively expanded. These are just two examples of how our public taxpayer
funds are being redirected toward the private sector to the detriment of
communities across the state.

It is time for our educators and children to have a budget they deserve.

Our students deserve safe, welcoming schools with qualified, dedicated
educators. With your help, we will continue to advocate for public dollars
to stay in public schools and all schools to be held accountable for how
they spend tax dollars and educate children.

We will fight to increase teacher pay and improve student outcomes. We will
work to expand services, especially for vulnerable children in small,
rural, and under-resourced schools. We want every child in NC to reach
their full potential. All students deserve a free, high-quality public
education.

Will you help us? Please donate to help to fund our work!

Together we can protect and empower public education!

[7]DONATE

With your support, we will advocate for legislators to do the following
along with funding other educational priorities!
* Hire the social workers, psychologists, counselors, nurses our kids
need. Fund these essential positions at recommended staff: child ratios.
* Stop underfunding public schools. Currently North Carolina is #48 in
cost-adjusted per pupil funding level and #49 in funding effort.
* Pay educators a professional salary and work to restore the teacher
pipeline.
* End private school vouchers; keep public dollars in public schools!
* Stop NC corporate tax cuts.
* Support NC Pre-K by funding the 27,000 kids currently on the waitlist.

The Co$t of Culture War$

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of intense focus on education
policy and the activities of school boards across the nation. Initially
motivated by conflict over masking policies, after the pandemic eased
activists such as Moms for Liberty members shifted their attention to other
conflicts. They rallied community members who often had little or no
connection to the school district to express outrage about topics ranging
from Critical Race Theory (CRT), Social Emotional Learning (SEL), book
banning, to bathroom access for trans students.

In [8]The Co$t$ of Conflict: The Fiscal Impact of Culturally Divisive
Conflict on Public Schools in the United States authors use district case
studies to highlight the changing conditions under which schools and their
leadership teams have operated since 2021. They found that conflict in
schools and school districts has grown dramatically and the increased
conflict has come at a high cost in some cases.

These costs are both personal and financial as school personnel come under
verbal and physical threat and districts must pay for heightened security
and deal with the cost of staff turnover.

Using extensive survey data and follow-up interviews with superintendents,
researchers categorized districts into low, moderate, and high levels of
conflict. They found that high conflict districts spent substantially more
on security, media, social media, legal, community relations, government
relations, school board relations, and other costs than low conflict
districts.

Of particular concern are the emotional and financial costs due to staff
turnover in high conflict districts:

"It is important to note that increased staff turnover in HIGH Conflict
districts is often tied to what one superintendent in our survey described
as "incredible stress on leaders and teachers as they navigate imaginary
slights and online drama in the community." Citing the "demoralizing …
attack on the character of public servants," a superintendent in
Pennsylvania wrote that "the emotional stress and anxiety can be nearly
crippling." A New Jersey superintendent explained, "The negative language
bantered about education professionals and our schools is having dire
consequences. This is the leading cause of the teacher shortage and
burnout/retention issues.”

As a superintendent in Wyoming shared with us during her interview, the
recent attacks have been particularly hard for educators who have
traditionally been respected in their communities. “It’s like the shift
from how public schools used to be seen as a positive, a way to serve every
child, a way to bring us together. Now we’re being vilified and that is so
hurtful, I think, and that contributes to my staff stress.”

The researchers found that “On average, a school district serving 10,000
students and experiencing HIGH levels of culturally divisive conflict is
spending $812,000— funds that could otherwise be spent enriching
students’ education. If this district’s level of conflict decreased to a
LOW level of conflict, the district would save roughly $562,000. And, in
addition, such a district would experience far lower levels of stress among
students and staff.”

School districts across the country are already dealing with extremely
tight budgets due to the end of pandemic relief funds this year. Let’s all
work to make every district a low-conflict district and do what we can to
make sure resources are spent where they’re intended—on improving
students’ education through safe, welcoming environments and supported,
well-paid staff.

[9]READ THE REPORT

Legislative and SBE Updates

Legislators are back in Raleigh next week and the House is scheduled to
vote on overriding Governor Cooper's veto of SB382. Keep an eye on the
[10]legislative calendar for meetings and changes.

On Wednesday, December 11, the [11]House Select Committee on Helene
Recovery meets at 10:00 a.m. ([12]stream).

The NC Charter Schools Review Board meets December 9 and 10 for their
regular monthly meeting. The meeting will be [13]live streamed.
* December 9 [14]Agenda
* December 10 [15]Agenda

Will Business Leaders Stand Up for Education?

By Paul Fulton, Chair, Public Ed Works

Once upon a time, North Carolina was a leader in public education.

The president of the state Chamber of Commerce was also the chair of the
State Board of Education. Average teacher pay in North Carolina ranked 19th
in the nation in 2001.

Business leaders seemed to understand the connection: Strong public schools
are the backbone of a strong economy and a strong democracy.

But where are we today?

Strong public schools are just as important as low taxes – maybe more so.

There’s nothing more important to attracting industry – be it
pharmaceuticals, AI, EVs or whatever acronym you choose – than a sound
school system, from pre-school to grad school.

As our governor likes to say, the top three priorities of the CEOs he
speaks with are workforce, workforce and workforce.

A trained workforce is vital for industry and a dynamic economy. Our
community colleges are a major factor in attracting industry. Yet as good
as they are, we too often shortchange them.

And we embarrassingly underinvest in our K-12 public schools:
* North Carolina ranks 49th in the percentage of its economy (GDP) it
devotes to K-12 public schools. We have the means, the capacity, the
wherewithal to do more. We just don’t – year after year.
* North Carolina ranks 48th in per-pupil spending. Again, we can do more.
But we don’t.
* The state ranks 42nd in starting teacher pay. And it is projected to
rank 41st in average teacher pay this year.

Why? This is an embarrassment to a state that has ranked among the top two
states for business for the past three years. That ranking won’t last
without strong public schools.

TO BE BLUNT, the vast expansion of taxpayer dollars for private-school
vouchers – $6.5 billion over the next decade – drains public education to
send those tax dollars to private schools. [16]READ MORE

Voters Across the Political Spectrum Gave Public Education Important Wins
in the 2024 Election

People around the country split their tickets to support public schools and
vote for Trump.

By Jeff Bryant

In a general election that was by-and-large disastrous for the Democratic
Party, voters across the political spectrum united to oppose efforts by
Republicans to privatize and politicize public schools. The wins mostly
occurred in red states that voted for President-elect Donald Trump, who has
[17]called for shuttering the U.S. Department of Education, [18]accused
schools of indoctrinating students, [19]vowed to privatize education, and
[20]pledged to defund schools that teach “liberal” curriculum.

School voucher programs, elaborate schemes that give parents taxpayer money
to fund their children’s private school tuition, had an[21] especially bad
day at the ballot box. Voters rejected these schemes despite their
popularity with Trump, who [22]many experts say will likely make a federal
voucher program a priority in his upcoming administration.

“School vouchers [23]continue to fail at the ballot box,” says Joshua
Cowen, a visiting senior fellow at the Education Law Center, in an email to
The Progressive. “Voters in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kentucky shot down
voucher schemes.”

In Nebraska, voters [24]rejected a measure that would have provided $10
million in tax money annually to fund “education scholarships,” also known
as vouchers. Vouchers lost despite [25]backdoor attempts by state lawmakers
to thwart the will of the people, according to Leigh Dingerson, senior
research fellow at In the Public Interest.

[26]READ MORE

In Case You Missed It

[27]More than 54,000 new NC private school vouchers awarded in record
program expansion

[28]Durham parents forced to find transportation for students starting
Monday due to bus driver shortage

[29]$3M shortfall: Rising food costs put Wake schools budget in the hole

[30]IDEA 2004 turns 20: How the landmark reauthorization changed special
education

[31]U.S. math scores drop on major international test

December 2 Was Special Education Day

Special Education Day is celebrated on December 2 each year to recognize
the signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) into
law by President Gerald Ford in 1975. IDEA was signed by President Ford on
November 29 to grant access to a free and appropriate public education
(FAPE) for children with special needs . The act has been revised several
times but the essential purpose has not changed. IDEA is the foundation for
special education in the U.S.

Mark Your Calendar for the Second Webinar on the Future of Public Education

What Do We Do Now? Money Matters More Than Ever So States Can Make the
Grade!

When: Monday, December 16, 4-5 p.m. ET

Who: Dr. Danielle Farrie, ELC Research Director, author of [32]Making the
Grade; Wendy Lecker, Esq., Senior Attorney, School Finance and Resource
Equity; Robert Kim, Esq., ELC Executive Director.

If the new federal administration adheres to the plans set out in Project
2025 they will dramatically reduce the role of the federal government in
public elementary and secondary education. Though states are responsible
for the vast majority of public school funding, a reduction and/or
loosening of oversight of the billions of dollars that the federal
government sends to states each year will have dramatic implications,
especially for the nation’s most vulnerable students

These threats make it more important than ever that states have adequate
and equitable school funding systems that support all students. Learn how
states are performing on ELC’s Making the Grade 2024, our annual report on
the condition of school finance across the country; get an update on the
state school finance litigation across the country; and learn how to push
back against harmful federal and state proposals that would undermine
advocates’ progress in reducing disparities and improving educational
opportunities.

[33]REGISTER HERE

Great Gift Ideas from PSFNC

There's nothing better than a good book for relaxing with over holiday
breaks. Public Schools First NC has a terrific selection of books we've
featured over the years in our webinars and conferences.

When you donate $50 or more to Public Schools First NC, we'll send you your
book choice.

Another great gift idea is a Public Schools First NC t-shirt. Wear it
yourself and give as gifts to show your public school pride! [34]BUY BOOKS
and [35]T-SHIRTS

Words to Remember

"In public schools, students have numerous constitutional rights, including
equal protection, due process, free speech, and both free exercise of
religion and freedom from religion. None of these constitutional
protections apply in private schools." The School Voucher Illusion, p. 81

Help us support public schools!

Public Schools First NC is a statewide nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit
focused solely

on pre-K to 12 public education issues. We collaborate with parents,
teachers, business and civic leaders, and communities across North Carolina
to advocate for one unified system of public education that prepares each
child for productive citizenship.

[36]DONATE HERE

[37]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]

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Public Schools First NC
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