June 21, 2025

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Let Legislators Know Your Education Priorities

There is still time to let legislators know your funding priorities for our
public schools! The NC House passed their version of the new biennial
budget on May 22, 2025. The NC Senate failed to approve the House's version
of the budget on June 3, 2025 so they appointed a budget conference
committee to create a compromise budget that both of the legislative
chambers could approve.

The 2025-26 budget conference committee is composed of legislators
appointed by House and Senate leaders. According to recent [7]news
articles, the conference committee has been [8]unable to agree on a new
two-year state budget.

While the legislators are debating what to fund in the budget, this is a
great time to let them know your priorities for the education budget. The
conferees are commissioned with reconciling differences between the two
budget proposals and your views could help them decide. Currently there are
significant differences between the Senate and the House on how to pay
teachers and fund public schools.

By engaging with the conference committee members, you have the opportunity
to highlight the importance of specific budget allocations and advocate for
priorities that are important to you or your organization. Your voice, as
a constituent, holds weight and helps inform their policy choices.

The list of lawmakers appointed to be on the conference committee to create
the final budget was released on June 12, 2025. [9]Use these emails for the
committee members. They are also listed on the NCGA website [10]HERE.

Public Education Priorities:

While there are many funding needs in our public schools, we suggest five
that are known to significantly impact a student’s ability to succeed in
school. When you contact members of the conference budget committee, urge
them to:
1. Improve teacher pay. Teacher pay must be our top funding priority. A
qualified, experienced teacher is the strongest in-school predictor of
student achievement. Without competitive compensation, we cannot recruit,
retain, or respect the professionals our students need to be prepared for
college and career in the 21st century.
2. Fully fund NC-PreK to give eligible four-year-old children a
high-quality early childhood education that prepares them for success in
kindergarten and beyond.
3. Increase the number of helping professionals in public schools: school
social workers, school psychologists, and school nurses. These
professionals are vital in fostering a child’s emotional well-being. They
provide the support teachers need to help every student achieve academic
success.
4. Provide a teacher assistant in EVERY K-3 grade class. Limit class size
to 25 for grades 4 and 5.
5. Provide meals at no-cost to every student. One in five children in NC
live in poverty and face hunger daily. NC’s child poverty rate ranks 10th
highest in the nation. By providing healthy and accessible meals, schools
can create a more equitable and supportive environment where all students
have the opportunity to thrive.

Urge Legislators to Consider These Facts In Their Deliberations:
* NC public schools are struggling to fully staff classrooms and meet
basic needs due to chronic underfunding and rising costs
* NC ranks 48th in the nation for per-pupil spending, approximately
$5,000 less per student than the national average
* Research shows that teachers are the #1 school-related factor that
impacts student outcomes
* North Carolina is 48th among states in funding level–$4,868 below the
national average of $16,645 per pupil spending
* NC ranks 43rd in the nation for average teacher pay—$13,738 below the
national average and five spots lower than last year
* Teachers in NC have seen declining real wages when adjusted for
inflation over the past decade
* NC is losing its best teachers to nearby states that paid significantly
more
* Research shows that more adequate school spending leads to improved
academic outcomes for students, especially those who have greater need
* NC’s economic competitiveness depends on a strong K-12 public education
system that prepares students to be effective members of the workforce
* NC legislators keep cutting corporate taxes, shifting more and more
of the responsibility of funding education to local government
* NC legislators have allocated $731 million in public funds to
unaccountable private school vouchers that divert funding for public
schools that serve the majority of students
* NC legislators have a sworn duty to uphold our state's Constitution
which guarantees every child a free, high quality public education to
prepare them to fully participate in our democracy.

We encourage you to call, write, or email today! Our public schools and
educators need our help! We need a significant increase in teacher salaries
to retain our great educators and recruit new ones.

Your voice is urgently needed now. No time to call or write? Click below to
SIGN OUR PETITION to the Budget Conference Committee!

[11]SIGN OUR PETITION

Joint Statement Regarding HB 832 & SB 254

Chairman of the NC State Board of Education Eric Davis and NC
Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice "Mo" Green published a press
release stating that they were deeply concerned by the Charter Schools
Review Board provisions in the latest versions of [12]House Bill 832 and
[13]Senate Bill 254. The main concern centered around provisions in the
bills that they believe violate the NC Constitution and risk undermining
public confidence in the integrity, oversight and unity of North Carolina's
public school system. They urged legislators to reconsider these provisions
to ensure that the public school system remains strong, accountable and
worthy of our communities' confidence. Read the entire press release
[14]HERE.

Did You Know?

* NC has the most highly qualified teachers in the nation -- the most
National Board Certified teachers than any other state
* Public school teachers are dedicated to helping our children succeed.
Between 2021-24, NC teachers spent a combined 6.5 million hours learning
about the science of reading.
* Creativity is prevalent in our public schools producing amazing
outcomes! More than 87% of graduates go to two or four-year colleges and
universities and more
* There are 134 early college public high schools in NC that allow
students to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate's
degree.
* Public schools are preparing students for college AND careers! In
2023-24 public school students across NC earned 358,069 workforce
industry-recognized credentials, topping all previous years!
* Public Schools educate 8 in 10 school-aged children in NC! Surveys show
that parents are highly satisfied with their children’s experiences.
* Public Schools are in the TOP 5 employers for all 100 counties! When we
support our local school district, we support our local economy!
* Public schools are the best financial investment in our communities
that we can make. The readiness of our students and our graduation rates
(86.5% in 2024-25) makes this investment unmatched

Legislative and SBE Updates

Agendas, streaming information, and updated information are found on
the [15]legislative calendar.

See our [16]Week in Review for a summary of bills.

K-12 Ed Bills to Watch

1. [17]HB 832 Education Omnibus. - House for Concurrence
2. [18]SB 254 Charter School Changes. - Senate Rules
3. [19]HB 959 Protecting Students in a Digital Age[20]. - [21]Conference
Com Appointed
4. [22]HB 775 Criminal History Checks for School Positions. - House
Finance
5. [23]HB 378 Various Ed Law/Tax Acct/NIL Changes. - House Calendar for
Concurrence
6. [24]SB 449 Fiscal Resp & K-20 Tech Plan/Central Office Salary. - Senate
Rules
7. [25]SB 77 School Contracted Health Services. - Senate Rules
8. [26]HB 928 Allow PTs in School Concussion Protocol. - Sent to the
Governor

Bad Bill - SB 50 "Freedom to Carry Act"

Senate Bill 50 "[27]Freedom to Carry Act" allows anyone 18 or older to
purchase and carry a concealed handgun without obtaining a permit or taking
a firearms training course.

Current law limits concealed handgun carry permits to those 21 or older who
have obtained a permit and have passed a criminal background check.

If this bill passes into law, it will allow more young people with no
training on how to properly use or store a weapon o own and carry handguns
without passing a background check.

North Carolina currently ranks 16th in the U.S. in the rate of school
shootings. Let's not make the situation worse!

Ask [28]Governor Stein to Veto SB 50!

Did You Miss Our Latest Report?

A new report published by Public Schools First NC reviews the curriculum
used by North Carolina private schools that accept taxpayer-funded tuition
vouchers ([29]NC K-12 Private Schools 2024-25: A Review of
Curriculum). North Carolina’s lawmakers have spent nearly 1.5 billion
taxpayer dollars on private school vouchers since the program’s launch but
they still require no oversight of the curriculum taught by the schools
that receive state funds.

The reports show that just 7% of voucher-receiving private schools use
standards that align to North Carolina’s content standards. Seventy-three
percent of the private schools that received tuition voucher funds in
2024-25 are religious and use curriculum explicitly founded on a biblical
worldview. Some education experts worry that these materials do not have
the academic content and rigor required by the North Carolina Standard
Course of Study when preparing students for postsecondary options.

[30]Read the Curriculum Report!

What is NC PEN?

[31]NC PEN is the NC Public Education Network, a resource to
help connect all those who are passionate about our public schools –
students, parents, educators and the general public all across NC. Contact
folks in your community and join together to advocate for better teacher
pay, more support staff in our schools like nurses, social workers and
school psychologists and no costs meals for all students.

Go to this link and click on the county to view the groups we know about
that are working in your county.

Help us GROW this network and make it stronger. If you know a
group supporting or working with the public school system in a particular
county that we should include, please contact us
at [32][email protected].

What is NOT in the "Draft" Budget So Far...

What’s Not In The Budget:

Funding for Universal School Meals

A Teacher Assistant in Every K-3 Grade Class

Cost of Living Increase for Retired Educators

Funding to Clear the NC Pre-K Waitlist

Affordable Health Care Costs for Educators

School Staff Raises that Cover the Cost of Inflation

Money to Help Districts Replace Failing HVAC Systems

More School Nurses, Psychologists & Social Workers

What IS in the Budget:
* $1.36 Billion for School Vouchers In Next 2 Yrs
* Another reduction to the NC Corporate tax rate
* More Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

Calling Western NC Educators!

Call for Participants: Oral History Project for WNC Educators Affected by
Hurricane Helene

Dr. Amelia Wheeler (Western Carolina University) and Dr. Morgan Tate
(University of Georgia) are launching a research project titled Beyond the
Storm: A Tribute to Appalachian Teachers and Their Stories. This oral
history project seeks to document the experiences of public school
educators in Western North Carolina who taught during and after Hurricane
Helene.

If you are a K–12 public school educator in the Appalachian region and were
working in a school impacted by Hurricane Helene, you may be eligible to
participate.

Participation includes:
* A one-hour, audio-recorded interview conducted at a location of your
choice in your community
* A $100 gift card as a thank-you
* Optional review of interview excerpts before public sharing or
publication
* A $75 contribution offered to your school district to offset substitute
costs (if the interview occurs during the school day)

Interviews will take place between May and September 2025. The project aims
to honor educators' stories and make visible the critical roles they play
during times of crisis.

Interested in participating? Want to know more?

Please Contact:
* Dr. Amelia Wheeler – [email protected]
* Dr. Morgan Tate – [email protected]

Request A Speaker!

Need a speaker for your next event or group meeting? PSFNC welcomes the
opportunity to speak to your group or organization on public
education-related topics.

We offer our programs virtually to improve accessibility and attendance and
therefore extend your reach. Our services are free of charge but may
require travel-related expenses if the program is in-person.

Email us at [email protected] for more information.

Words to Remember

"Millions of families of color as well as poor whites stand to lose as they
truly have no choice other than to enroll their children in underfunded,
segregated schools, public, private, or charter. Choice has provided a
safety net for some but the majority are in peril."

— Jon Hale, The Choice We Face p. 165

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.

[33]DONATE HERE

[34]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]

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