The powers that rule in the North Carolina General Assembly have been waging a war against public schools in our state for the last four years. Under the guise of “reform,” GOP conservatives driven by ALEC-crafted policies have successfully enabled and instituted privatization efforts in many forms: unregulated charter school development, expansive growth of unproven … Continue reading North Carolina’s Quest to Make Veteran Teachers Extinct

North Carolina has had record budget surpluses but refuses to acknowledge the LEANDRO decision that emphatically states that NC has failed to fully fund our public school system for decades. Teachers fill out a working conditions survey every other year for the state that has no questions about how teachers feel the state handles public … Continue reading North Carolina Is The Most Cruelly Ironic State When It Comes To Public Education

This is the next step in undoing the Leandro decision. Because it's part of a bigger plan that deliberately coincides with the expansion of vouchers. In a court order dated Oct. 20, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal filed by Sen. Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore that a trial judge lacked … Continue reading Overturning Leandro Is Next

This week Gov. Cooper announced added funding for free and reduced-price meals in public schools. "More money will be rolled out to schools across North Carolina to provide for free breakfast for students. Gov.Roy Cooper announced Monday $1.4 million will be distributed through competitive grants, which is up to $50,000 for each school district." Actually, … Continue reading All Public School Meals Should Be Free For All Students. And It’s Easy To Fund.

Vacancies for jobs only tell part of the story. The calculated narratives about how badly our public schools have been performing for the last ten years are manufactured on half-truths and bolstered by a glaring lack of proper funding. When a state is sitting on billions of dollars in surplus, throws hundreds of millions more … Continue reading Dear North Carolina, You Are Losing Your Teachers

From the News & Observer last spring: Actually much less. The article makes reference to a recent DPI report. Specifically page 19. Still far below the national average, but NC’s average teacher pay is not near $58K. Of those over 21,500 (21,716.41) positions are veteran teachers who have graduate degree pay. They were “grandfathered” into that … Continue reading Don’t Believe What Raleigh Says About Average Teacher Pay. Here’s Why.

Before the Great Recession: In 2023 with a massive state surplus and a court ordered LEANDRO decision:

Sen. Phil Berger and his cronies have had 12 years to “improve” our public education system. 12. The number of grades in a standard progression through a public school. Here are a few of the actions taken in those 12 years. 1. Teacher Pay Kept Well Below National Average 2. Removal of Due-Process Rights  3. Graduate Degree … Continue reading They’ve Had 12 Years To “Fix” Public Education. Instead They Have Been Tearing It Apart.

The Economic Policy Institute releases a report every year that tracks what is called the “teacher pay penalty.” What is that? EPI says it occurs when teachers “are paid less (in weekly wages and total compensation) than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts, and the situation has worsened considerably over time. And NC doesn’t fare well. The … Continue reading Do You Know What NC’s Teacher Pay Penalty Is?

There are changes that should have been made long ago about how the NCHSAA governs high school sports. Just the amount of money that it was sitting on during a time when schools were in need of funds did warrant investigation. But the answer is not what the NC General Assembly put into law. In … Continue reading The NC High School Athletic Association Should Be Governed By Coaches & Athletic Directors