As North Carolina families prepare for the new school year, school districts are balancing budgets and, in some cases, asking county commissioners for additional funding to help cover local matches to align with the state’s teacher pay increases and bonuses. At the same time, a new state commission is preparing to examine how North Carolina can redesign high schools to better prepare students for college and the workforce.
Back-to-School Budget Constraints
North Carolina’s state salary schedule creates a local fiscal obligation that varies depending on how many positions a district funds locally and its ability to raise local revenue. While the average 8% teacher pay increase has been welcomed by educators, districts are now facing the added cost of raises and bonuses for locally funded positions.
Wake County needs more than $17 million to cover these costs, leading the district to trim funding for programs like Restart, reverse a planned 1% increase in local supplements, and draw on reserves. Guilford County has also requested additional funding from its county commissioners. The Forum estimates that districts statewide will need approximately $47 million to cover the increased salary and bonus for locally funded positions, based on the number of positions funded last year. Many districts had budgeted for a 3% increase before the state budget was finalized.
The impact, however, will not be the same across districts. Higher-wealth counties may be able to absorb those costs through additional appropriations, program reductions, or reserves. A smaller or rural district may have far fewer options. The result is another example of how state funding decisions can create uneven financial pressures for local governments and school districts–and how state-level decisions can have very different consequences depending on a district’s local resources.
Redesigning North Carolina High Schools
Competing pressures around what the state expects schools to provide and what is funded are particularly relevant as North Carolina begins a new conversation about high school redesign.
The North Carolina High School Redesign Commission was authorized in House Bill 268, a technical corrections bill that amended the state budget signed into law by Governor Stein in July. The commission is tasked with examining promising practices in North Carolina and across the country, including flexible graduation requirements, personalized and competency-based pathways, work-based learning and industry credentials, partnerships with colleges and employers, expanded career exploration, and the use of AI. It will also consider alternative funding models to support a statewide learning ecosystem.
The commission’s membership includes appointments by the General Assembly House and Senate leadership, Governor, the state superintendent, higher education, business, and workforce organizations. Notably, the State Board of Education is not represented. The commission will be housed within the Department of Public Instruction but operate independently.
The commission’s focus also reflects changes in federal education policy. The Trump administration has transferred most U.S. Department of Education functions to other federal agencies, including moving elementary, secondary, and higher education programs to the U.S. Department of Labor through interagency agreements. These changes reflect a broader emphasis on connecting education more directly to workforce preparation–a goal that is also central to North Carolina’s high school redesign effort.
The policy question now is whether North Carolina will provide schools and districts with the resources and flexibility needed to carry out these ambitions. As the state asks schools to prepare students for a changing workforce, it will also need to consider whether its funding system gives districts the capacity to meet those expectations.
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