John —

I just announced plans for historic investments in North Carolina’s students, families, and workforce to ensure that success abounds in our state for generations to come. This is the right moment to put resources where they are needed most.

North Carolina is already a great place to live, learn, work, and raise a family — but we all know that there’s more we can do to make sure all our communities thrive. My newly released budget meets our most urgent needs.

Our budget:

• Increases teacher pay by an average of 18% over two years, raising our teachers’ wages to the highest in the Southeast.
• Addresses the growing mental health and substance abuse crisis with a $1 billion plan.
• Expands Medicaid before the end of the fiscal year to keep our people healthy.
• Funds job training and apprenticeship programs to bolster our workforce and ensure there are skilled workers to fill good-paying jobs.
• Provides childcare stabilization grants to ensure kids can access safe, quality care and education and their parents can get back to work.
• Increases pay and improves benefits for state employees to ensure we can retain the qualified workers who power our state government.
• Grants tax breaks for middle class families while ensuring corporations and the wealthy still pay their fair share.

John, our budget is a responsible, balanced plan that invests in opportunities for families and communities. It saves in case of future uncertainty, with more than $7 billion in reserve in case of a downturn. And it doesn’t raise taxes.

This is how we keep moving North Carolina forward. If you’re in favor of this historic investment in our state, please, stand with me today. Add your name here to show your support for our budget >>>

Thank you,

Roy Cooper