Dear Public Education Supporter |
This has been a rough year, but we have been steadfast in our work to protect and strengthen public education for all NC children because of YOU. YOU have given us encouragement and resources to not back away but instead step up our advocacy work. YOUR generosity has been the helping hand we needed in the nonstop battle to PRESERVE our public schools. We couldn't have imagined almost 12 years ago when PSFNC started that privatizers would work so hard to tear down our public schools by underfunding public education while overfunding and expanding the school voucher program, but here we are. Because of you, we keep fighting against the defunding and privatizing of this fundamental and constitutional civil and human right--the right to a free, public education for every child in our state. We are deeply grateful. Your help is needed even more. We need your suggestions and ideas on how to share the information about the harm being done to our public schools and the teacher pipeline and thus, our children. We also need your tax-deductible donation. We ask you to encourage others in your network to do the same. We know that the majority of North Carolinians support their public schools. We know that when people really understand the impact of the attacks against our public schools, they care and they get involved. Please invite your family and friends to visit our website, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletter. You know the fight is real and you know we are ready for it! With our sincere thanks, Public Schools First NC |
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Charter School Reckoning: Disillusionment |
The National Center for Charter School Accountability just released the second installment of their three-part series—Charter School Reckoning: Decline, Disillusionment and Cost. The first installment, Decline, focused on how in recent years, there are nearly as many charter school closures as new schools opening, and that funding focus should shift to strengthening existing schools rather than opening new schools (that are more likely to fail). This second installment, Disillusionment, focuses on why charter school support has been declining in recent years, dropping 22 percentage points since 2013. Scandals and closures have tarnished the reputation of charter schools and a growing number have strayed far from charter schools' original purpose. |
At their inception, charter schools were intended to be teacher-led schools, rooted in community needs where parents have a real voice. In reality, about half of all charter schools are run by charter management organizations (some for-profit, some non-profit) that are far removed from families and communities. Disillusionment concludes by outlining legislative and policy reforms needed to bring charter schools back to their original vision. Disillusionment has important lessons for North Carolina as our charter schools have far less oversight than when they were first introduced nearly three decades ago. For-profit management organizations are running more charter schools in the state than ever before; policymakers should take a close look at where change is needed to protect students, families, and taxpayers. |
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Legislative and SBE Updates |
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Federal Voucher Comment Portal Is Open |
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| The federal budget bill signed into law in July (H.R.1) included a federal voucher program that allows individuals and corporations to get a 100% tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to an organization (Scholarship Granting Organization) that provides education vouchers. States must opt-in to the program and most are waiting for additional guidance from the federal government before making the decision. The US Treasury and IRS are now seeking input into the policies being developed for the program. This is your chance to voice an opinion on how the federal voucher program should be implemented! For example, to maximize transparency regulations could require the Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) to publish a list of donors as well as list all scholarship/voucher recipients. Regulations could ensure that the voucher funds are only spent on tuition at schools that are open to all students and follow all state and federal non-discrimination laws. Access the comment portal here. |
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Mark Your Calendar - Wednesdays for Ed! |
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| Join Public Schools First NC and other public education supporters at the legislature in downtown Raleigh on the second Wednesday each month until the legislative short session starts in April. We will meet in front of the State Legislative Building to advocate for public schools! 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. State Legislative Building at 140 E Jones Street, Raleigh - January 14
- February 11
- March 11
- April 8
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Legislative Scrooges: No Christmas for North Carolina |
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| By Douglas Shackelford and Paul Fulton, former Deans of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill Once again, for the second time in seven years, the NC General Assembly has failed to pass a budget. Our state stands alone as the only one in the country unable to complete its most basic responsibility. While every other state managed to fund its schools, its workforce and its essential services, Raleigh gridlocked itself into failure. And ordinary North Carolinians – especially our teachers – will pay the price. Despite ongoing inflation and rising costs in every corner of life, legislators refused to approve raises for teachers and other state employees. The very people who keep our schools and public services running – who buy classroom supplies out of their own pockets, who keep prisons secure, who maintain our roads and safeguard our communities – will see their purchasing power shrink yet again. The legislature knows full well that our state employees are underpaid READ MORE |
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New Video - Taxpayer Money, Unequal Safety |
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| Check out our new video about HB 775, a bill that passed through the House and is now being considered by the Senate. It adds more criminal background requirements for public school (traditional and charter) staff, contractors, and charter school board members. However, HB 775 doesn't add any criminal background checks for private school staff. Currently only ONE private school staff member is required to pass a criminal background check. WATCH HERE |
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| DID You Know that North Carolina's voucher program has been FORWARD FUNDED since the legislature set up the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve in 2016? This means that the voucher program is protected from situations when the legislature fails to pass a state budget. With no state budget, most of the state is operating on their 2024-25 funding levels. But because of forward funding, voucher programs do not have to operate at 2024-25 levels. The funds for the 2025-26 vouchers were appropriated in the 2024-25 budget. So while teachers and other state employees go without new funding this year because we have no budget for 2025-26, the state voucher programs have plenty of money! Contact your state legislators and urge them to stop forward funding vouchers. Our public schools are more important! |
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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. - January 22, 2026
- February 26, 2026
- March 26, 2026
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Words to Remember"We support public services because they serve the public. We support public schools because society benefits by having an educated citizenry. If we lose sight of the common good, our democracy will suffer.” — Diane Ravitch, An Education: How I Changed My Mind About Schools and Almost Everything Else |
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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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