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Tag: North Carolina education

  • Protesters urge NC lawmakers to ‘keep public dollars in public schools’

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    RALEIGH

    Public school advocates rallied in front of the General Assembly on Wednesday to lobby for more school funding and for restrictions on charter schools and private school vouchers.

    Participants at a “wEDnesdays for Public Schools” protest organized by Public Schools First NC and the North Carolina PTA held up signs with messages such as “Keep Public Dollars in Public Schools” and “Schools Just Wanna Have Funds.” Protesters argued that traditional public schools are suffering at the expense of more taxpayer money being provided to charter schools and private schools.

    “We are 50th in the country in our funding effort for investment in public education, and that’s abysmal and shameful,” Lynn Edmonds, outreach director for Public Schools First NC, said in an interview. “We need better teacher pay. We need more investment in classroom materials. We need more investment in public school funding.”

    The groups plan to hold “wEDnesdays for Public Schools” rallies on the second Wednesday of the month on Feb. 11, March 11 and April 8. Wednesday’s protest drew around 15 people.

    Public school advocates including Marie Dexter, president of the Wake County PTA Council, center, gather outside the N.C. Legislative Building in Raleigh to lobby for more public school funding on Wednesday. NC Teachers in Action plans to hold protests on Feb. 7, March 7 and April 7.
    Public school advocates including Marie Dexter, president of the Wake County PTA Council, center, gather outside the N.C. Legislative Building in Raleigh to lobby for more public school funding on Wednesday. NC Teachers in Action plans to hold protests on Feb. 7, March 7 and April 7. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

    Hundreds of teachers called out of work on Jan. 7 to lobby for more school funding. NC Teachers in Action plans to hold monthly protests on Feb. 7, March 7 and April 7.

    Public school priorities in 2026

    Public Schools First NC promoted its top six legislative priorities of 2026:

    • “Fully fund public schools to the national average or better using the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan as a guide.”
    • ”Stop the harmful diversion of public tax dollars from traditional public schools to voucher and charter schools; apply the same policies & regulations to all schools that receive public tax dollars.”
    • “Repair the teacher pipeline by increasing teacher base pay and restoring and bolstering essential classroom, teacher, and student supports. Increase pay for all other school personnel.”
    • “Promote student well-being and safety by creating safe and supportive learning environments for all students and teachers.”
    • “Provide a healthy start for all children by ensuring access to universal free pre-K and school meals for every student.”
    • “Reverse policies that unfairly and inequitably target public schools. “

    Protesters pointed to how North Carolina ranks 43rd in the nation in average teacher pay, according to the National Education Association. The Education Law Center recently ranked North Carolina 50th nationally in state funding for schools.

    Public school advocates gather outside the N.C. Legislative Building in Raleigh to lobby for more public school funding Wednesday.
    Public school advocates gather outside the N.C. Legislative Building in Raleigh to lobby for more public school funding Wednesday. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

    North Carolina was the only state that didn’t pass a comprehensive budget in 2025, leaving funding largely at 2024 levels. This means teachers and other school employees didn’t get new pay raises at a time when state Health Plan costs are going up.

    “We need to show that parents support our educators throughout North Carolina and our students,” Marie Dexter, president of the Wake County PTA Council, said in an interview. “We need the legislature to pass a budget so that we can pay our teachers properly, so our students are fully funded, so our buildings are maintained properly.”

    How should NC provide school choice?

    Several of the items on the Public Schools First list put it at odds with the priorities of the Republican-controlled state legislature.

    Public Schools First wants the state to restore the cap on the number of charter schools allowed. The group also wants to put a moratorium on funding for school voucher programs such as the Opportunity Scholarship program.

    GOP legislative leaders are fighting the Leandro plan, arguing that only the legislature and not the courts can order the spending of state money.

    In addition to removing the cap, lawmakers eased the rules on charter school expansion. Legislators also sharply increased funding for the Opportunity Scholarship program and opened it up to families of all income levels.

    “Public schools, it’s education for everybody. It’s education for all,” Dexter said. “We need that money in our schools to make sure that everyone has a proper education.”

    Enrollment is continuing to rise in charter schools at a time when it’s dropping in traditional public schools. Enrollment is also rising in private schools. The majority of private school students now get a voucher.

    “You know where you can find a lot of school choice that’s free,” said Edmonds, who is also a Wake County school board member. “That’s in the public school system.

    “There’s a lot of choice within the public school system, and if parents want that, that’s where the General Assembly should be investing our tax dollars.”

    This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 3:05 PM.

    Related Stories from Charlotte Observer

    T. Keung Hui

    The News & Observer

    T. Keung Hui has covered K-12 education for the News & Observer since 1999, helping parents, students, school employees and the community understand the vital role education plays in North Carolina. His primary focus is Wake County, but he also covers statewide education issues.

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  • NC renews two low-performing virtual charter schools. See how long and why.

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    NC Charter Schools Review Board renewed the charters for NC Cyber Academy and NC Virtual Academy through June 2031.

    NC Charter Schools Review Board renewed the charters for NC Cyber Academy and NC Virtual Academy through June 2031.


    David T. Foster, III

    dtfoster@charlotteobserver.com

    North Carolina’s original two virtual charter schools will be allowed to stay open for another five years despite being among the lower academic performing schools in the state.

    The N.C. Charter Schools Review Board voted 7-3 on Monday to extend the charters for North Carolina Cyber Academy and the North Carolina Virtual Academy through June 2031. Both schools have been popular with families even as they’ve been labelled by the state as continually low-performing since they opened in 2015.

    “We’re renewing two schools for five years that have been continually low performing for all 10 years and have not met growth, except one school for one year, and yet the enrollment is almost 2,500 in one and 4,000,” said Rita Haire, a Review Board member. “Do they not understand the quality of education that’s being delivered?”

    Both virtual schools were among 37 charter schools whose charters were renewed on Monday. Nearly a fifth of the state’s more than 210 charter schools have charters that expire in June.

    Virtual Academy did not immediately respond Monday to requests for comment from The News & Observer. Cyber Academy said it was working on a response.

    Virtual charter performance ‘not acceptable’

    Charter schools are taxpayer funded schools that are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow.

    Both Cyber Academy and Virtual Academy opened in 2015 as the state’s first two remote charter schools. It was part of a pilot program created and extended by state lawmakers.

    Demand has exceeded the supply of seats even though 2023 at the Virtual Academy was the only time either school didn’t get a D performance grade from the state. They have also not met academic growth expectations on state exams nearly every year.

    “Looking at these grades, that’s not acceptable,” said Hilda Parlér, a Review Board member.

    Questions were also raised about how the rainy day fund has reached $16 million at Virtual Academy and $9.7 million at Cyber Academy.

    “Their academic performance isn’t grand,” said Todd Godbey, a Review Board member. “If they’e truly got $16 million in the bank, why aren’t they using that to make academic performance better for their students?”

    But Bruce Friend, chair of the Review Board, pointed to how both virtual schools attract students who transition in and out throughout the school year. He said that’s a reason why online charter schools are treated as alternative schools in some states.

    “I don’t disagree about holding schools accountable for their performance,” Friend said. “But I’d caution about an apples to apples comparison.”

    All-or-nothing decision on charter school renewal

    The same state law that allowed charter schools to operate remote academies like traditional public schools also gave Cyber Academy and Virtual Academy the option to request renewal.

    But Review Board members said state lawmakers had limited their flexibility by only giving them the option to approve or reject a five-year renewal. In contrast, the Review Board can grant renewals of three to 10 years for brick-and-mortars charters as well as not renew them.

    “If a brick and mortar schools were in front of us with that kind of academic performance, we would pick them apart to understand all of those pieces to hold them accountable for it,” Godbey said. “We need to be able to do that with those schools.”

    Friend, Stephen Gay, Eric Guckian, Haire, Lindalyn Kakadelis, Eric Sanchez and Shelly Shope voted for the five-year renewal. Godbey, Gerald McNair and Parlér voted no.

    North Carolina charter school renewals

    These brick-and-mortar charter schools were renewed on Monday:

    10-Year Renewals

    • Clover Garden
    • Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy
    • The New Dimensions School
    • Concord Lake STEAM Academy
    • Davidson Charter Academy
    • The Institute for the Development of Young Leaders (IDYLL)
    • Wake Preparatory Academy
    • FernLeaf Community Charter School
    • Bradford Preparatory School
    • Commonwealth High School
    • Pioneer Springs Community School
    • Stewart Creek High School
    • Unity Classical Charter School
    • Telra Institute
    • Moore Montessori Community School
    • Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW)
    • KIPP Pride Collegiate Preparatory
    • Roxboro Community School
    • Faith Academy Charter School
    • Cardinal Charter Academy

    7-year renewals

    • Thomas Academy
    • Gate City Charter Academy
    • Success Institute Charter School

    5-year renewals

    • Crosscreek Charter School
    • Next Generation Academy
    • Summit Creek Academy
    • Classical Schools of Wilmington
    • American Leadership Academy-Coastal
    • Union Day School
    • Raleigh Oak Charter School

    3-year renewals

    • Asheville PEAK Academy
    • The Experiential School of Greensboro
    • Iredell Charter Academy of Arts and Sciences
    • American Leadership Academy-Charlotte
    • Z.E.C.A. School of Arts and Technology

    The state board tabled votes until February for Old Main STREAM Academy, which is recommended for a 10-year renewal and for Rocky Mount Preparatory, which is recommended for a three-year renewal.

    Related Stories from Raleigh News & Observer

    T. Keung Hui

    The News & Observer

    T. Keung Hui has covered K-12 education for the News & Observer since 1999, helping parents, students, school employees and the community understand the vital role education plays in North Carolina. His primary focus is Wake County, but he also covers statewide education issues.

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  • 2025 will end without a ruling in NC’s long-running Leandro school funding case

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    Another year will pass without any resolution in sight for the decades-old Leandro school funding lawsuit.

    The Leandro case was not among the final 19 decisions for the year issued Friday by the North Carolina Supreme Court. As of Friday, 659 days had passed since justices heard oral arguments from Republican lawmakers who challenged a 2022 decision that said the courts can order money be spent on public schools.

    The Leandro case is one of the oldest cases — if not the oldest — where the court hasn’t issued a ruling since hearing oral arguments.

    “Year after year, the Court has declined to act, choosing instead to ignore its responsibility in this critical matter,” Tamika Walker Kelly, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said in a statement Friday. “The Supreme Court’s ongoing inaction makes it clear that the court, like the North Carolina General Assembly, are not committed to ensuring that North Carolina’s 1.5 million public-school students receive their constitutional right to a sound, basic education.”

    A spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not respond to an email Friday from The News & Observer requesting comment.

    Jan. 30 is the next potential release date for court opinions. But there’s no guarantee a ruling will be issued then.

    Leandro in court since 1994

    The Leandro case was initially filed in 1994 by five low-wealth school districts to get more state funding.

    Over the course of the case, the state Supreme Court has ruled that the state constitution guarantees every child “an opportunity to receive a sound basic education” and that the state was failing to meet that obligation.

    In November 2021, Superior Court Judge David Lee ordered the state to transfer $1.75 billion to fund years two and three of an eight-year plan developed by a consultant. The amount has since been revised to $677.8 million for those two years.

    The plan is meant to try to provide every student with high-quality teachers and principals. The full eight-year plan is estimated to cost at least $5.6 billion.

    Just days before the 2022 midterm elections, the Supreme Court, which then had a Democratic majority, upheld Lee’s order along party lines. The Democratic justices said the courts had deferred long enough for the state to implement a plan to provide a sound basic education.

    Republicans gained the court’s majority after the 2022 election and blocked enforcement of Lee’s order. The court also agreed to hear an appeal filed by Senate leader Phil Berger and then-House Speaker Tim Moore.

    Democrats: Court gave ‘hall pass’ to defund schools

    The court heard oral arguments on Feb. 22, 2024. The GOP lawmakers said only the General Assembly and not the courts have the authority under the state constitution to order the spending of state dollars.

    Associate Justice Anita Earls, Chief Justice Paul Newby and Associate Justice Phil Berger Jr. hear arguments in the Leandro case at the N.C. Supreme Court in Raleigh, N.C., on Feb. 22, 2024.
    Associate Justice Anita Earls, Chief Justice Paul Newby and Associate Justice Phil Berger Jr. hear arguments in the Leandro case at the N.C. Supreme Court in Raleigh, N.C., on Feb. 22, 2024. Supreme Court of North Carolina

    On Friday, both NCAE and the North Carolina Democratic Party leveled criticism at the Republican majorities on the Supreme Court and in the General Assembly.

    “Once again, North Carolina’s Supreme Court has failed to deliver what our children, parents, and families need,” Walker Kelly said. “Once again, they have chosen to stand by and let our students go without. And once again — just like the General Assembly — they have failed in their duty to uphold the constitutional promise of a sound, basic education.”

    The North Carolina Democratic Party accused the Supreme Court’s Republican majority of giving their counterparts in the legislature “a hall pass to keep systematically defunding public schools.” Democrats pointed to a recently released report from the Education Law Center that ranked North Carolina at the bottom nationally in state funding for schools.

    “To the children who have never known anything different: I promise that it does not have to be this way,” North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton said in a statement Friday. “You do not have to watch your teachers ration printer paper and stock your classroom shelves from their own pocketbooks. Our State Constitution promises that every child in North Carolina has access to a sound basic public education.”

    A spokesperson for the North Carolina Republican Party did not respond to an email and voicemail Friday requesting comment.

    This story was originally published December 12, 2025 at 4:06 PM.

    Related Stories from Charlotte Observer

    T. Keung Hui

    The News & Observer

    T. Keung Hui has covered K-12 education for the News & Observer since 1999, helping parents, students, school employees and the community understand the vital role education plays in North Carolina. His primary focus is Wake County, but he also covers statewide education issues.

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