Governor Stein's Budget Proposal |
Governor Stein’s initial budget request released on Wednesday sets out his major funding priorities for the 2025-27 budget. The proposal will be refined over the next few months and a Hurricane Helene relief proposal is still coming, but this week’s release represents the governor's key priorities. Beginning teacher pay is increased from $41,000 to $44,500 in 2025-26 and $51,200 in 2026-27. These bumps move North Carolina from the lowest of our surrounding states to one of the highest in the southeast. Salaries for more veteran teachers also increase; teachers with 5 years of experience will receive an $8,450 increase over two years, while those with more than 15 years of experience will receive about $3,200. Taken together these increases represent an average of about 10.6% over the biennium. Governor Stein’s proposal takes many more steps to support students and educators: - Restores 10% master’s pay supplements to teachers whose advanced degrees are in the subjects they teach.
- Funds all students with disabilities, even in districts whose numbers exceed the 13% cap.
- Funds a 6.5% raise for correctional officers and youth counselors.
- Adds a child tax credit of up to $300 for a family of four.
- Provides funding for 330 additional school health personnel, including school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists.
- Funds 330 new elementary and middle school resource officers positions each year.
- Provides universal school breakfast at no cost to families.
- Enables public schools to continue providing K-12 students with a laptop.
- Reinstates a sales tax holiday for school supplies (removed by lawmakers in 2014).
Stein’s proposal also includes a $4 billion bond to modernize old and outdated school buildings. However, his proposal lacks a clear pathway for meeting all of the requirements of fully funding the Comprehensive Remedial Plan (Leandro Plan) as ordered by the 2022 N.C. Supreme Court. To help fund his initiatives, Governor Stein has suggested cutting the private school voucher program so tax dollars flow to the public rather than private interests. He also recommends freezing the corporate income tax cuts. Currently at 2.25%, the corporate income tax is set to drop to 0% by 2030. You can read the complete budget request here. |
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Say NO to Dismantling the U.S. Dept. of Education! |
On Thursday, the White House issued an Executive Order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” it directs the Secretary of Education “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs and benefits on which Americans rely.” However, just last week, more than 1,300 staff at the Department were laid off, including nearly all those in charge of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the only national program focused on tracking student achievement over the years. Superintendent Mo Green warned that North Carolina's schools could lose up to $1.5 billion federal dollars if the Department doesn’t continue funding programs at their current levels. Teacher education programs in the state have already lost more than $90 million in federal grants in an early round of cuts just days after Secretary McMahon was confirmed. The federal student loan programs managed by the Department have already experienced some setbacks as the site where families apply for federal aid (FAFSA) was temporarily inaccessible last week. |
Also in question are funding to support low-income schools as required by Title 1 legislation and funding to support special education and ensure all students receive appropriate instruction as required by IDEA. The administration claims that these functions will be moved to other departments, but it has also closed U.S.D.E Office of Civil Rights offices that are charged with enforcing the laws. An end to the U.S. The Department of Education requires action by the U.S. Senate because the Department was established by Congress. At least 60 senators (a supermajority) must agree to abolish the agency, which means that several Democrats will need to join Republicans to make it happen. Please fight for our public schools and our communities by fighting to keep the U.S. Department of Education fully staffed and functional. Contact your elected officials and urge them to reject the administration's effort to dismantle this essential Department |
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Proposed Math Cuts Jeopardize College Admissions |
A new bill filed on Monday would remove Math 3 as a graduation requirement and allow high schools to offer Math 3 “to the extent that there is sufficient student interest.” House Bill 415 “Split Math Courses and Change Math Grad. Reqs.” also requires the State Board of Education to develop courses of study that split the content of the current NC Math 1 and 2 courses over four courses titled Extended Math 1, 2, 3, and 4. Primary sponsors are Reps. Willis (Union), Biggs (Randolph), Cotham (Mecklenburg) and Rhyne (Lincoln) According to the bill, completing Extended Math 1, 2, 3, and 4 “shall satisfy all mathematics graduation requirements established by the State Board of Education.” Missing from the bill is a recognition that current MINIMUM undergraduate admissions requirements for the University of North Carolina institutions includes completion of Math 3 or its equivalent AND one unit beyond NC Math 3. (The NC Math 1, 2, 3 series is essentially equivalent to Algebra 1, Algebra II and Geometry.) House Bill 415 seems to be a way for lawmakers to sidestep their obligation to provide quality instruction to help students meet challenging standards. Instead of raising teacher salaries and giving students the support needed to succeed in NC Math 1, 2, and 3, bill sponsors are lowering expectations and damaging students’ future opportunities. It is shameful and cynical for lawmakers to lower standards at public schools while sending millions of tax dollars to private schools. Don’t let lawmakers rob our students of the skills and future opportunities they deserve! |
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Legislative and SBE Updates |
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| The legislative session continues on Monday. Check the legislative calendar for updates as things are moving quickly. Read our Week in Review for a summary of legislative actions and the status of education-related bills. House Bill 420 "Sound Basic Education for Every Child" was introduced this week as a vehicle for the NCGA to finally fund public education as directed by the state constitution. The funding amounts in the bill align with the requirements of the Comprehensive Remedial Plan (Leandro Plan) developed to identify specific funding/programs that would enable the state to provide a sound, basic education to every child. This bill deserves a swift pathway through the NCGA to Governor Stein's desk! |
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Easier Access to Guns will Make Schools LESS Safe |
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| House Bill 5 "NC Constitutional Carry Act” and its companion Senate Bill 50 “Freedom to Carry NC” have been moving their way through the NCGA. On March 20, SB 50 passed through the Senate along party lines. Both bills lower the legal age for a person to carry a concealed handgun from 21 to 18 and removes the requirement to obtain a permit to carry a firearm. As a result, firearms training, criminal background check, and safety courses are no longer required. Perhaps anticipating more deaths due to the relaxed regulations, SB 50 also increases the amount paid for line of duty deaths for law enforcement officers and establishes a scholarship for children of permanently disabled or slain NC law enforcement officers. It also increases the punishment for firearm assault of certain emergency personnel including medical and law enforcement. Current law: - Must be 21 or older
- Complete firearms safety course
- $80 fee
- Residency requirements and background check
Proposed law: - Must be 18 or older
- No safety training or background check
- No fee
- No background check
Not surprisingly, law enforcement officers and medical professionals spoke against the bills. As the country deals with school shootings, this law raises concerns about the easy access to guns putting students and educators in greater danger. Youth gun deaths in the U.S. have grown 50% since 2019 and in 2023, firearms were the leading cause of death among U.S. youth for the third year in a row. These statistics alone should raise enough concerns for lawmakers to halt HB 5 and SB 50. . Contact your House member to urge a halt to SB 50! |
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Check out our Voucher Video - Spanish Version |
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| Public Schools First NC partnered with ISLA (Immersion for Spanish Language Acquisition) to create a Spanish language version of our short video explainer about North Carolina's school vouchers. Please share widely! ¿Qué Sabes Acerca de los Vales Escolares de Carolina del Norte? |
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Our Shared Inheritance: The Promise of Education in Every State |
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| The North Carolina School Boards Association's newest episode of their podcast (The Board Table) features Derek Black, prominent legal scholar, education historian, and author of Dangerous Learning: The South's Long War on Black Literacy. Each state in the union has outlined their own set of foundational liberties, rights, and opportunities that guide the everyday lives of generations to come. Though each state contains its own distinct set of obligations for its respective government, there are common threads, and an important commonality is that of education. In all 50 states, each constitution establishes the promise of an education for each of its residents and cements the importance of access to learning into their founding documents. Black explores this principle and discusses the historical context and implications of a state government's obligation to provide education. Access the podcast here. Make a tax-deductible donation to Public Schools First & we will mail you his new book. |
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| March 27, 7:00 p.m. Join NC PTA and Public Schools First NC for the second installment of our series of interviews with new public education leaders. Dr. Elena Ashburn is the new Senior Education Policy Advisor to Governor Josh Stein. Prior to joining Governor Stein’s staff, Ashburn served as Central Area Superintendent in the Wake County Public School System, supporting 17,000 students in 23 schools. Ashburn has served as a middle and high school principal and began her career in education teaching English at Southern Durham High in the Durham Public School System. In 2021, Ashburn was named the North Carolina Wells Fargo Principal of the Year. The same year, the UNC School of Education awarded Ashburn the UNC Distinguished Alumna Award for her work in education. Q & A with the audience if time allows. REGISTER HERE |
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| Multiple Dates, 7:00-8:30 pm: Resilience and ACES. Learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and resilience. Join us for this award-winning, 60-minute film, Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope. This documentary examines how abuse, neglect, and other adverse childhood experiences affect children’s development & health outcomes in adulthood. This powerful movie is a conversation starter and a perspective changer. REGISTER HERE |
All screenings are on Thursday and include time for discussion. Invite a friend and contact us about setting up a private screening for your school staff, PTA, civic group, church, or synagogue. |
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Words to Remember“During the civil rights movement, Whites vehemently resisted integration, putting forth insidious mechanisms to preserve their privileges and investment in a segregated system, most notably through 'freedom of choice' plans." — Jon Hale, The Choice We Face |
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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. |
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