April 19, 2025

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Senate Budget Falls Short

The Senate took an important step in the road toward a biennium budget on
Monday when it released its budget proposal: [7]Senate Bill 257 “2025
Appropriations Act.” Following a pattern set in previous years, the bill
contains many non-budgetary policy changes that could be addressed outside
the budget process. The bill was also put on an extremely fast track,
leaving members little time to read and consider its contents.

The budget passed through the Committee on Finance and the Committee on
Pensions, Retirement and Aging on Tuesday and was brought to the full
Senate for a vote on Wednesday. After hours of debate and several
amendments, the bill passed and will be sent to the House for consideration
as the House prepares its own budget proposal.

The budget appropriates $700,000,000 from reserve accounts for hurricane
relief, which will be welcome news for those still working to recover from
Helene. (p. 49) The budget also shifts from existing programs such as
transportation to disaster relief, however, families sending their children
to private schools are still slated to get the $731,000,000 currently
appropriated in the base budget [8]for 2025-26.

Teacher Pay. In sharp contrast to [9]Governor Stein's budget
recommendations which give teachers an average raise of 5.7% for next year,
the Senate budget gives a skimpy 1.25% raise (p.127). The [10]current
inflation rate is 2.4%, so the Senate is effectively giving our public
school educators a pay cut. A WRAL report indicates that teachers are
making about 13% less than they made in 2008.

The budget continues funding for some bonus programs that reward teachers
who teach advanced courses (e.g., AP, IB), career and technical education
courses (CTE), or whose students met certain growth criteria on EOG or EOC
tests. (p.129)

Perhaps in anticipation of continuing high teacher attrition rates over the
coming years, the Senate budget establishes “the AI Academic Support
Program to allow public schools (traditional and charter) to contract with
Kahn Academy for academic support services in grades 6 - 12. Their program
“Kahnmigo” is an application that uses AI to help teachers create lesson
plans and provide tutoring to students. (p.108)

However, the budget also establishes a competitive grant program to bolster
the teacher pipeline. The Teacher Apprenticeship Program allows for
apprentices to work in schools that have established apprenticeship
programs and an Advanced Teaching Roles unit. Apprentices must have a
bachelor’s degree and have an emergency teaching license, a residency
license, or a permit to teach in NC.(p. 121)

Although both the House and Senate have already moved forward bills to
address cell phones in classrooms, the budget bill also included a cell
phone policy. It requires districts and charter schools to develop wireless
communication (e.g., cell phones, tablet/laptop computers) policies that at
minimum “prohibit students from using, displaying, or having a wireless
communication device turned on during instructional time.” Exceptions
include teacher authorized instructional use, student IEP requirement, and
medical need. (p. 117)

Despite making major changes to the charter school authorization and
oversight processes in the 2023 [11]Charter School Omnibus Bill, the Senate
went further in the budget bill. It shifts more authority over charter
schools away from the State Board of Education to the Charter Schools
Review Board (CSRB). The bill gives authority to propose, recommend, and
approve rules and policies regarding all aspects of charter school
operation to the CSRB. Previously the CSRB had authority to make
recommendations to the State Board of Education, but final decisions were
made by the State Board. (p. 110)

For more information on the budget:

[12]Senate passes budget plan with tax cuts, employee raises, Helene aid
and DOGE-style review.

Bad Bill Updates

This week, [13]House Bill 636 "Promoting Wholesome Content for Students"
passed through the House Education K-12 committee and the full House after
contentious debate. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

[14]House Bill 806 "Public Schools Operational Relief" was scheduled to be
discussed at the House Education K-12 committee on Wednesday, but the
meeting was canceled. It is currently on the calendar for April 29.

Public Schools First sent out an [15]Action Alert that describes the bills'
problematic content. Please check it and take action to halt these bills in
their tracks.

NC Senate Budget Sides with the Wealthy Few

Faced With Pausing Tax Cuts for the Rich or Lowering State Spending, NC
Senate Budget Sides with the Wealthy Few

With the release of their budget proposal Monday night, Senate budget
writers brazenly and unequivocally put tax cuts for corporations and the
richest North Carolinians above any other priority for the state. Wednesday
night, a mere 48 hours after the more than 1,000 pages of bill text and
budget documents were released to the public and most lawmakers, the
majority of State senators cast their vote in support of the proposal. They
did so after blocking numerous amendments that would have redirected
proposed giveaways for corporations and the wealthy few into increased
funding for child care, paid leave, and more. [16]READ MORE

Legislative and SBE Updates

The NCGA is adjourned until Monday, April 28. The crossover deadline is May
8, so there will be a lot of activity after April 28. For a bill to become
law, it must be passed through the chamber where it originated and sent to
the other chamber to achieve "crossover."

Check the [17]legislative calendar for daily updates!

Read our [18]Week in Review for a summary of legislative actions and the
status of bills.

"This State Shouldn't be 49th in Anything"

RALEIGH (April 16, 2025) – North Carolina business leaders gathered for a
webinar hosted by Public Ed Works Wednesday to discuss the vital connection
between education and business.

Each panelist shared how education has contributed to the success of their
business and how they want to support learning in our state going forward.

Tom Oxholm, retired Executive Vice President of Wake Stone
Corporation…feels it’s important for business leaders to invest in public
education. He believes not everyone is aware of the issues educators deal
with today.

“In our teacher pay scale, after you finish 14 years as a teacher, you have
no scheduled raises for the next 10 years,” Oxholm said. “Who in their
right mind as an employer would say, ‘Hey, we want you to come to work at
Wake Stone, and you’ll do fine for 14 years, but then, you’re not going to
get any more raises.’”

Another panelist, former President of Merck Manufacturing Division Willie
Deese, said business leaders want to attract the best talent, and the best
way to do that is with great education.

“You’re not just competing against neighboring states, or states across the
U.S.,” Deese said. “You’re competing against the globe.” [19]READ MORE

In Case You Missed It

[20]NC House passes bill that would remove challenged books from school
libraries

[21]Senate budget updates child care subsidy rates, lacks subsidy floor

[22]Do NC lawmakers want our kids to be less educated? That's what this
bill would do

[23]Texas lawmakers advance school choice bill after nearly 11 hours of
debate

[24]Failing Arizona charter school reopens as a private school

New Blog!

If US schools are censored, students will struggle to form their own
opinions

by Darrah Harrison, Western Carolina University, originally published April
5 in the Asheville-Citizen Times

Schools serve as battlegrounds for young minds to thrive or be beaten down.
Nowadays, many books reflecting our current political climate in the U.S.
and the real hardships of our past have been banned. Since 2021, over
16,000 of these books have been banned, according to PENAmerica. Titles
such as "The Handmaid’s Tale" by Margaret Atwood, "Nineteen Minutes" by
Jodi Picoult,and "Looking for Alaska" by John Green are among them. These
stories serve as warnings of the future and lessons from past mistakes, yet
they are being swept away by our state’s elected officials. It is not only
the government taking part in this censorship but also groups like Pender
County Concerned Citizens and school boards in Catawba County. [25]READ
MORE

Book Event: Autism Out Loud!

Join us for an evening with vlogger and author Dr. Adrian Wood, Tales of An
Educated Debutante.

Adrian will talk with us about her new book, Autism Out Loud: Life With A
Child On The Spectrum, From Diagnosis to Adulthood. Adrian’s “Tales of An
Educated Debutante” is her blog and “vlog” where she “offers personal
glimpses where satire meets truth, faith meets irony, despair meets joy and
this educated debutante escapes the laundry and finds true meaning in
graceful transparency.” With lots of humor and honesty, Adrian shares her
experiences as a mom of four and how her youngest child changed their
family for the better.

You won’t want to miss this fun event!

Your $50 ticket includes a signed copy of Autism Out Loud. Refreshments and
beverages included. Get your [26]Tickets here.

We’re excited to offer a limited number of FREE tickets to public school
educators. If you’re a teacher, please contact us at
[email protected] for details.

Mark Your Calendar!

April 24 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.

[27]REGISTER HERE

Words to Remember

"The defining issue here is: Do you care about other people’s kids or not?
Do we want to live in a world that’s based on an understanding of a public
good, or one where only the individual good matters?"

— Beth Lewis, Save Our Schools Arizona

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.

[28]DONATE HERE

[29]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]

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