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January 3, 2026

[1]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org
[2]Facebook [3]Instagram [4]YouTube [5]LinkedIn [6]TikTok

Determined in 2026 - Join the Fight to

Save Our Public Schools!

What Have Legislators Done? North Carolina has spent more a decade watching
the state’s public education system being battered and neglected by our
elected officials. Over the years, Public Schools First NC has [7]shared
with you the many failures of the NC General Assembly, the NC Supreme
Court, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Congress to support
and fund our public schools. This onslaught of neglect and failures has led
us to the [8]bottom of the nation in both public education funding and
funding effort.

Enough is Enough.

Why Does It Matter? The United States was built on the belief that a
successful democracy needed an educated citizenry—that Americans could
prosper if they had the knowledge and skills to fuel their own success as
well as contribute to their communities and their county’s success by
electing leaders who would further the democratic ideals of our founders.
Our democracy’s cornerstone is the belief that all Americans need access to
free public education in order to fully participate in our democracy. The
nation's early leaders also believed that having an educated citizenry
would help guard against corruption and tyranny, and would foster shared
civil values.
* James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," said that "a popular
Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is
but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy".
* John Adams said that the "diffusion of knowledge and opportunity
through the lowest classes of the people is the only sure foundation of the
preservation of our liberties".

Too many current leaders at state and federal levels have abandoned these
ideals and seek to hoard resources and opportunities for the wealthiest
among us. North Carolina’s steady disinvestment in public schools and
increased investment in private school tuition subsidies (vouchers) is one
example.

How Have Privatizers Been Successful? We are watching the “school
choice/privatization” playbook in action:
* Discredit. Wage a public relations campaign against public schools by
calling them failing and push the idea that students will be better served
in private schools.
* Defund. Underfund schools and eliminate the resources that have the
greatest positive impact on academic performance, creating underperforming
schools.
* Dismantle. Push private school vouchers as the solution to
underperforming schools. As more public dollars go to private schools,
public schools will start to close.

Unfortunately, this playbook works. We live in a time when misinformation
and alternative facts are rampant and reach us at an unprecedented speed.
It’s hard for public school advocates to cut through the noise and inform
the public about the truth: our public schools are not failing, and most
charter schools and voucher schools do not perform better than public
schools. In fact, where data do exist to compare public schools and private
voucher schools, the voucher schools perform much, much worse than public
schools.

However, school privatizers will not stop pushing their playbook, so we
MUST NOT stop fighting back with the truth.

Enough is Enough.

How Does Privatization Harm Our Public Education System?

[9]Privatization in North Carolina is being pushed through charter school
growth and private school tuition vouchers.

An increasingly large proportion of the state’s charter schools are being
operated by private charter management companies that send taxpayer dollars
to privately held organizations (See our [10]charter school report.).

Direct, explicit privatization of education is occurring through the
[11]state’s universal private school voucher programs. Vouchers harm public
schools by diverting crucial funding away from public schools, expanding
racial/economic segregation, increasing education costs by funding tuition
for students who were already in private school, undermining academic
achievement (see our [12]report on curriculum taught in private schools),
and promoting [13]discrimination. State legislators have diverted public
funds to private schools that can exclude students based on
ability/disability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and income. This
private school discrimination is absolutely NOT allowed in public schools,
because public schools must follow both federal nondiscrimination laws and
the state’s constitutional mandate to provide a free public education to
all students.

Equally alarming is the lack of accountability. Voucher programs divert tax
dollars to largely unregulated private entities that are not required to
make their financial records public. Financial review by a CPA is required
only for schools with 70+ voucher-receiving students. Private schools in
North Carolina have no curriculum requirements and do not participate in
the state testing program. As a result, there is no way to meaningfully
evaluate the academic impact of vouchers. In addition, state law requires
that only [14]4% of voucher applicants must be audited each year, leaving
many opportunities for fraud. In addition, private schools receiving
voucher funds aren't required to hire licensed teachers, [15]provide
standardized curricula, or report student performance, unlike public
schools.

By expanding vouchers to all families regardless of income or whether
students had ever attended private schools, North Carolina legislators have
added a new expense for taxpayers: paying private school subsidies for the
wealthy.

As public funds subsidize private schools that don't serve all students or
meet public standards, our legislators have created a two-tiered system
that undermines the inclusive mission of public education. We have seen in
other states how this diversion of money leads to under-resourced public
schools for the poor and marginalized, while private schools with the
ability to charge tuition as well as accept endowments are also receiving
public funds, creating incredible inequality.

When a student uses a voucher for private school, that state funding
follows the student, leaving public schools with fewer resources for
teachers, materials, and services. Public schools must still cover fixed
costs (like buildings) even with fewer students.

The United States was founded on the belief in the “common good” as shown
in our constitution’s preamble. Giving our tax dollars to private schools
shifts our priority from strengthening inclusive public schools—which serve
the majority of students—to subsidizing private education and weakening our
public education system.

Enough is Enough!

What Does The Research Support?

Research overwhelmingly shows that private school vouchers are a failed
policy. They should not be allowed at the state or federal level. Instead
of focusing on bolstering private school vouchers, lawmakers should fully
fund our public schools and promote strategies we know improve academic
success and lifelong opportunities for all students. Lawmakers should be
champions for equitable, full funding for our public schools including
increasing teacher pay and special education funding, providing no cost
meals and pre-k, and funding more resources to support youth mental health.
Enough is Enough!

How Can You Join the Fight?

We’ve just updated our [16]Advocacy Toolkit to provide you all the things
you need to join the fight for our public schools. Our toolkit has three
main steps: Learn the Facts, Engage and Take Action, and Connect and Share.
We walk you through each of these steps in the toolkit and provide links to
fact sheets, resources and more.

Start with the toolkit and take these other steps to help us fight for the
public education our children deserve:
* Sign up for our newsletters
* Attend your local school board meetings
* Stream and listen in to NC legislative committee meetings and hearings
* Share our content with your friends and networks

There’s more! We developed the [17]NC Public Education Network (NCPEN) to
help you find groups and organizations within your community who support
public schools. Check out our [18]interactive map and let us know who’s
missing! We are always interested in adding to our partners list. Have a
group we need to add? Contact us at [email protected]

We’re taking the fight for our public schools to the NC General Assembly
(NCGA) in 2026 where we will tell them: Enough is Enough!

Join NCPTA and PSFNC and many more education advocates for wEDnesdays for
Public Schools. We’ll meet the second Wednesday of the month
(January-April) in front of the NCGA (Legislative Building) to speak up for
NC’s public schools! Bring your signs and your friends and join us!
[19]Sign up here.

Legislative and SBE Updates

The NCGA meets again on Monday, January 12, 2026. Both the House & Senate
are scheduled to convene at 10:00 a.m.

On January 7, the [20]House Select Committee on Government Efficiency meets
at 1:00 p.m.

Check the [21]legislative calendar for updates and streaming information.

The Education Lottery that Shortchanges Education

The [22]latest audit of North Carolina’s “Education” Lottery (NCEL) reveals
that just 16.4% of the lottery revenue went to education in 2025, down from
20.3% in fiscal year 2024 (See our [23]lottery fact sheet for more
background).

When the NCEL was created in 2005, 35% of the proceeds were required to go
to education. But in 2007, the legislature changed this requirement to a
guideline, so it should come as no surprise that over the years the
proportion going to education has steadily declined.

In fiscal year 2025, lottery ticket sales were $1.210 billion higher than
in 2024 ($6.586 billion in 2025; $5.376 billion in 2024). Despite the
record sales, the amount that ended up going to education fell short. North
Carolina education received $1.08 billion from the lottery in 2025, down
from $1.09 billion in 2024.

However, total expenditures for traditional public schools were [24]nearly
$18 billion in 2024-25, so $1.09 billion, while a substantial sum, made
only a small dent in what was needed.

It’s time for the 35% minimum requirement to be reinstated for lottery
revenue to go to education. In 2025, 35% of the $6.586 billion in lottery
revenue would have provided public education with $2.3 billion. Better, but
still not enough to make up for legislative neglect.

Dear Friends of Public Education

By Charles R. Coble, former Dean, School of Education at ECU and Vice
President for University-School Programs in the UNC Office of the President

Like many of you, I attended the December 26 funeral service in Wilson for
Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. I traveled there with friends whose common
thread was that of serving in different leadership roles in K-12 public
education or higher education during the last two terms Governor Hunt was
in office. We shared stories about our different experiences with the
Governor and with Carolyn over those years. We recalled Governor Hunt’s
First in America agenda that he had outlined in his State of the State
address that kicked off his final four years in office.

While some other Southern Governors were working to advance public
education in their states, Governor Hunt’s intense focus on K-16 education
was unique in America at that time. He was relentless in his efforts to
hold K-12 and higher education in North Carolina accountable for producing
measurable improvements, even as he worked closely with the General
Assembly to increase teacher pay and increase per pupil spending for public
schools as part of the Governor’s ABC’s education program. Governor Hunt
was a strong advocate of the Public School Forum of NC’s Teaching Fellows
Program, and he advanced a 12% salary increase for teachers who became
Nationally Board Certified. He supported funding for creating
university-school partnerships for improving teacher preparation in the UNC
system.

[25]READ MORE

Public Schools Offer a Better Choice

By Don Martin, Chair of the Forsyth County Commissioners

In 2013, the NC General Assembly passed the “Opportunity Scholarship” law
to provide scholarship funds for low-income students who wished to attend
private schools.

The premise was that poor students were trapped in public schools (often
referred to as “failing” public schools) and needed an “opportunity” to
attend a private school.

However, after several years, much of the funding for Opportunity
Scholarships was not used. Some speculated that this was because private
schools did not offer transportation, free school lunches, or the
scholarship wasn’t enough to attend many private schools.

But it might also be true that Opportunity Scholarships remained unclaimed
because poorer students and their families were pleased with their
public-school experience – the curriculum and teachers, no tuition, the
transportation provided, and the opportunity to receive a free breakfast or
lunch.

[26]READ MORE

In Case You Missed It

[27]NC teachers to run in GOP primary for state legislature. Will it have
an impact?

[28]Jan.1: Tax Cuts for the Rich in NC - Still No State Budget

[29]Jackson joins lawsuit to prevent cuts to school funding

[30]New NC laws in 2026: School phone ban, 2 genders only, health care
reforms

[31]If You Build It, Will They Come? (charter schools in NC)

Mark Your Calendar!

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.

[32]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

Words to Remember

"I always believed in working with people, but once in a while you have to
just fight people. If they’re not willing to put enough money into
education, if they are not willing to support teachers and early childhood
- the things we know we have to have - you just go to the mat and take them
on and try to beat them. I did it both ways."

— James B. Hunt, North Carolina Governor: 1976 - 1984 & 1992 - 2000

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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Public Schools First NC
PO Box 37832
Raleigh, NC 27627
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