North Carolina's School Funding Rankings Drop Again |
The Education Law Center’s Making the Grade 2025 report released on Wednesday highlights North Carolina’s continued neglect of public schools. North Carolina ranks 50th of 51 states (DC is included) for education funding. Only Idaho is worse. The report’s data is from the 2022-23 school year, so the rankings don't yet account for stagnant spending over the past two years. Making the Grade ranks states in three areas: funding level, funding distribution, and funding effort. Funding Level (NC Grade F; Rank = 50 out of 51). Funding level is determined by dividing combined state and local revenue for PK-12 education by student enrollment and adjusting to account for regional variation in labor market costs. In other words, the rankings account for the fact that some states are more expensive to live and work in than others. North Carolina spent $5,660 per student less than the national average in 2022-23 ($12,193 in NC compared to the $17,853 national average). This is a drop from the previous year when NC spent $12,252 per student and ranked 48th worst in funding level. |
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Funding Distribution (NC Grade C; Rank = 17 out of 48). Funding distribution describes the relationship between district-level, per-pupil funding and student poverty in each state. In other words, to what extent does education funding help offset some of the inequities created by different levels of poverty in communities across the state? This is a drop from last year’s report which gave NC a B and a rank of 12. So while NC spends very little money on education compared to other states, NC distributes its few dollars more equitably than the majority of states. Funding Effort (NC Grade F; Rank = 50 out of 50). Funding effort ranks states on effort measured as PK-12 spending as a percentage of the state’s economic strength—gross domestic product (GDP). Like funding level, the effort calculation includes both state and local funding. North Carolina ranks lower than all other states, dropping from the already abysmal 49 in last year’s report. The legislature’s continued failure to adequately fund our public schools should be an embarrassment to all lawmakers standing in the way of a budget that includes major increases for public education. |
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NC Teacher Salaries Drop 20.6% in 20 Years |
The Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank, has also been focusing on school spending trends. Like Making the Grade, Reason Foundation’s K-12 Education Spending Spotlight identifies North Carolina's poor education funding as compared to other states. Reason Foundation researchers used data from the US Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics for years 2002 through 2023 to show pre- and post-pandemic trends and identify key areas of interest for lawmakers and policymakers. To compare apples to apples, the researchers used inflation-adjusted (to 2023) spending and salary values. For example, to calculate salary trends, they adjusted the 2002 teacher salaries by the amount of inflation from 2002 to 2023 to determine what the 2002 salary would be if it had simply kept up with inflation (i.e., had the same spending power). Researchers found that nationwide, average teacher salaries declined 6.1% between 2002 and 2022. However, 5.6% of the drop came after 2020. Prior to the pandemic, average national salaries were mostly flat, growing by -0.6%. North Carolina’s teacher salaries showed a much stronger downward trend than nearly every state. Between 2002 and 2022, average salaries fell by 20.6% (i.e., grew -20.6%). In 2002, teachers in North Carolina made the equivalent of $71,783 (in 2023 dollars). In 2022, their average salary was $56,997. That’s essentially a $14,786 salary cut. |
North Carolina ranks 48th out of 50 states in the percent growth in teacher salaries since 2002. Only Michigan's and Indiana’s teacher salaries grew less—by -21.8% and -22.6% respectively. But because salaries in both states started higher, their teachers ended up with higher average salaries in 2022 than North Carolina’s teachers. Researchers also found that every state had increased spending on public education, with 2002 through 2023 increases ranging from 78.6% in California to 7.1% in Indiana. North Carolina’s education spending increase was the third lowest at 8.5%. Public school enrollment grew in 29 states (including North Carolina) from 2002 to 2023, but fell in 39 states after the pandemic. North Carolina’s public school enrollment followed this pattern. Before the pandemic, from 2002 to 2020, North Carolina’s public school enrollment grew more than 18% and after the pandemic (from 2020 to 2023) dropped 1.2%, leaving the total growth at 17.2% from 2002 - 2023. Note that North Carolina’s public education spending grew by just 8.5% from 2002 to 2023 while student enrollment grew by 17.2% during the same years. Researchers also found that nationwide, public school funding is increasingly spent on employee benefits—including teacher pensions and health insurance—and less on employee salaries. They found that for every new $1.00 that public schools spent on employee salaries between 2002 and 2023, benefit expenditures rose by $3.27. The main driver of the rising benefit spending was pension debt. For years, states have failed to set aside enough money to cover future pension costs, so now there isn’t enough money in pension funds to pay benefits owed to employees who are retiring. States are cutting into current funds to cover pension costs. Reason Foundation’s spotlight report provides more evidence of what North Carolinians already know: Legislators have been shortchanging public schools for years. Their data, along with Making the Grade and numerous other reports, shine a spotlight on how poorly our current state lawmakers are meeting their constitutional obligation to fund public schools. |
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It has been nearly two years since the latest oral arguments in the Leandro case and the NC Supreme Court has still not released a ruling. If our state legislature were fully funding public schools and providing a sound basic education to all students, then the case wouldn’t carry such high stakes. But a decade of intentional underfunding by our legislature in clear defiance of the state constitution means the stakes for schools are extremely high. If the current NC Supreme Court does not require our legislators to meet their constitutional obligation to our children, the promise of a sound basic education will remain an empty one for another generation. Our children deserve better! Legislators have continued to refuse to fund public schools according to the 2021 Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan ($5.5 billion over 8 years), while funding private school tuition vouchers for even the wealthiest families ($5.3 billion by 2029-30). Deliberate actions by the legislature have left our public schools severely underfunded. At the same time, legislators have overfunded private schools through the voucher program. The Leandro case is a three-decade battle for North Carolina’s public schools to receive adequate funding from the state legislature. It was launched in 1994 and centers on every child’s constitutional right to a "sound basic education," as defined in Article IX, Section 2 of the NC Constitution. The case addresses three core legal questions: 1) Do our children have a constitutional right preserved in the NC Constitution to a sound basic education 2) Has there been a constitutional violation of this right, and 3) If yes to question 1 and 2, is there a remedy to repair this constitutional violation? These questions were answered YES by the NC Supreme Court Justices three times during the last 30 years. In the final ruling—November 4, 2022—the NC Supreme Court ruled that the remedy (#3) was outlined in the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan and ordered the legislature to fund it. In the 2022 election, the makeup of the NC Supreme Court changed to majority Republican. Legislative leaders Senator Berger and Representative Moore decided to fight the Leandro ruling and refused to allocate funding according to the Remedial Plan. The new Supreme Court majority agreed to hear the case in February 2022. Our children are still waiting for their decision. READ MORE ABOUT LEANDRO |
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Where is the State Budget?Legislative and SBE Updates |
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| The NC General Assembly returns to Raleigh on Monday, December 15. House and Senate leaders have said that the session will be a non-voting session, so no veto overrides or budget movement are expected. NC will end 2025 with no state budget. FISCAL IMPACT: Due to the stalled budget negotiations, the House was unable to stop the automatic tax cuts (supported by Senate leaders) that go into effect on January 1, 2026. As a result, the individual income tax rate will drop from 4.25% to 3.99% and the corporate income tax rate will drop from 2.25% to 2% pushing NC closer to the forewarned "financial cliff" where the state cannot pay for the services North Carolinians need including adequate funding for Medicaid and our public schools. The House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform met Dec. 10 to question the superintendent and school board chair of Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools about whether the district is complying with SB 49 (The Parents Bill of Rights). The district leaders stated that they were complying with the law, but the meeting got heated as some lawmakers expressed outrage at books they said had been promoted by the district (denied by district representatives). Rep. Quick and Rep. Cervania made the following statement after the meeting pointing out that lawmakers have more pressing issues to address: “perhaps the majority should follow the Leandro court order, fully fund education in NC, stop starving rural school districts of funding, teachers, and capital improvements, and scrap the disastrous and bloated school voucher welfare program that shuffles money to the wealthiest members of our community.” READ MORE (NC Newsline) NC legislators grill Chapel Hill school officials on 'Parents' Bill of Rights' compliance (WRAL) |
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Federal Voucher Comment Portal is Open |
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| The federal voucher program signed into law in July (H.R.1) is not mandatory. States must actively choose to participate, and many are waiting to find out more about the program to decide whether to do so. (See our fact sheet on federal vouchers) The US Treasury and IRS are 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 make sure the program has maximum transparency, regulations could require the Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) to publish a list of donors as well as a list of 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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The NC Supreme Court's Inexplicable, Historic Silence on Leandro |
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| By Gene Nichol, professor of law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Here’s one of the oddest things I’ve seen in 50 years of court watching. When our realigned, politicized state Supreme Court came into office a couple of years ago, as The Assembly reports: “It took the new Republican majority only 30 days to grant (an) unusual request” from lawmakers to reconsider a landmark ruling in the Leandro case. The justices rushed to oral argument on February 22, 2024. “But 601 days later, they have yet to issue a decision.” Now it’s over 650 days of silence. I’ve never seen anything like it. No one has. To be honest, I’m not anxious to hear from Paul Newby and his court. They’re no friends to the low-income students of North Carolina. They’re no friends to the North Carolina Constitution. They are Republican retainers – first, last and only. But they may be having a tough time deciding what kind of damage to inflict on the public schools. Leandro v. North Carolina has been with us since 1994. Judge Howard Manning dedicated one of the state’s greatest legal careers to its enforcement. Judge David Lee, his successor, concluded, stunningly, that “the state is now further away from meeting its constitutional obligation to provide every child with the opportunity for a sound basic education than when the Leandro decision” was handed down. “Over a quarter of students in North Carolina attend 843 high poverty schools – (their) equal opportunity is compromised,” Lee said. Constitutional language can be a nuisance for enemies of Leandro. READ MORE |
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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 Legislative Building in downtown Raleigh on the second Wednesday of each month until the legislative short session starts in April. Our schools needs a budget and the Leandro dollars the court has ordered! Help us remind our legislators! Meet us in front of the Legislative Building to advocate for our 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
Fill out this Google Form to let us know to expect you at the legislature on Wednesdays! |
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| The majority of funding for our public schools comes from the state government (60% - 65%) while about 25% comes from local government and 12% - 15% usually comes from the federal government. Watch our video on public education funding to learn more. |
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Check Out Our New Advocacy Toolkit! |
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| Public Schools First NC has just released a new advocacy toolkit! Click through the slide deck to find information and tips on how to be an effective K-12 public education advocate. The toolkit is divided into three sections: Learn the Facts, Engage & Take Action, and Connect & Share. Each section walks you through key steps on the advocacy journey. We have also developed two topic-specific toolkits found directly below the advocacy toolkit slide deck: - Private School Voucher Toolkit
- Stop the Attacks on Students with Disabilities Toolkit
Check out the advocacy tools! |
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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"If our Court cannot or will not enforce state constitutional rights, those rights do not exist, the constitution is not worth the paper it is written on, and our oath...is a meaningless charade." — Anita Earls, NC Supreme Court Justice in her 2023 dissent on the Court's decision to revisit Leandro |
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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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