Right now, North Carolina ranks 49th in the nation in public education funding efforts. The 30-year Leandro case remains ongoing, despite rulings that we are not meeting our constitutional duty to provide every child with a sound, basic education. At the same time, calls to defund the U.S. Department of Education and delayed funding disbursements have made federal dollars feel unreliable, making our state’s responsibility to students even greater.
This may not sound great, but it’s not a reason to lose hope; it’s an invitation to lead. Despite these challenges, North Carolina’s local public schools continue to serve the vast majority of our children with heart, creativity, and resilience. Many of them are doing amazing things with a small amount of resources. Imagine what they could do with a lot.
Superintendent Green’s strategic plan outlines an ambitious path forward, including increasing graduation rates, ACT scores, and participation in advanced coursework, while leading the Southeast in educator pay. Reaching these goals will take more than a plan on paper. It will take respect for educators, community support, and investment.
Our investments demonstrate what we care about, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say most of us care about our future. That’s what public school students are: the future of our state. We cannot expect, or even hope, to continue to thrive as a state if we’re unwilling to give our next generations of professionals, lawmakers, and community leaders the tools they need.
North Carolina was once considered a national leader in education – while that may no longer be the case, that simply means the opportunity before us is extraordinary. North Carolina’s local public schools could be the best in the nation. The question is not whether it’s possible, it’s whether we will choose to make it so.
Leave a Reply