Group says NC must take ‘immediate action’ to provide students a sound basic education
North Carolina leaders must take immediate action to meet the state’s Constitutional obligation to provide each child a sound basic education, an education group said Tuesday.
In January, Superior Court Judge David Lee signed a court order in the long-running Leandro school funding case ordering state leaders to “work expeditiously and without delay to take all necessary actions” to improve the state’s education system.
The Public School Forum of North Carolina, a nonpartisan advocate for better schools and more public funding for education, declared Tuesday that carrying out the court order was the top education issue in 2020. The group listed five priorities for carrying out the order, including increasing school funding, putting a statewide school construction bond referendum on the ballot and changing the way schools are graded.
“Given the recent developments in the Leandro case, this issue represents what we at the Forum believe to be the most significant opportunity that we’ve had in decades — or at least in my lifetime — to impact the future of our public education system for the better,” said Lauren Fox, the forum’s director of policy.
The Leandro case
The Leandro school funding case began in 1994 when school districts in five counties — Hoke, Halifax, Robeson, Vance and Cumberland — took the state to court. Leandro is the family that was originally the lead plaintiff when the lawsuit was filed.
In 1997, the state Supreme Court declared that the state constitution guarantees every child “an opportunity to receive a sound basic education.” Then in 2004, the state Supreme Court held that the state’s efforts to provide a sound basic education to poor children were inadequate. The court did not prescribe specific solutions; that was left up to legislators and education leaders.
In his January court order, Lee backed the findings of WestEd, an independent consultant, who had recommended that the state increase education funding by $8 billion over the next eight years. The consultant found that state funding hadn’t kept up with needs, leaving students further behind academically than they were in the 1990s.
WestEd also made a wide-ranging series of recommendations, such as changing how schools are funded, how teachers are trained and how schools are evaluated.
Forum leaders told the 340 people who attended Tuesday’s Eggs and Issues Breakfast at N.C. State’s McKimmon Center that it’s time to act after decades of talking about how to improve public education in North Carolina.
“Too many of us here, including myself, have waited too long for our leaders to step up to the plate,” said Michael D. Priddy, interim president and executive director of the Public School Forum. “Let’s each of us resolve right now to take all appropriate steps to inform our citizens of this crisis and necessary solutions, and strongly encourage them to speak to those with the power and responsibility to act now rather than allow the lawsuit to linger for more decades.”
Republican legislative leaders said Tuesday they’re willing to consider what’s being proposed.
“We’re very appreciative of all proposals to improve education, especially WestEd’s detailed package of recommendations,” Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Watauga County Republican and co-chair of the Senate Education Committee, said in a statement Tuesday. “We wish they’d engaged policymakers during their lengthy process, but that’s water under the bridge.
“I expect some of WestEd’s proposals would get broad support in the General Assembly, while others may not. That’s the beauty of the legislative process.”
Education priorities for 2020
The Public School Forum group normally lists 10 top issues each year, but Tuesday’s list only had one issue with a list of priorities to carry out the Leandro decision.
▪ Priority one: Redesign Our School Finance System to Dramatically Improve Adequacy, Equity, and Flexibility.
▪ Priority two: Overhaul Educator Compensation, Recruitment, and Professional Development Strategies.
▪ Priority three: Revamp Our School Accountability Model: Eliminate or Revise the A-F School Grading System.
▪ Priority four: Support a Major State Investment to Fully Fund North Carolina’s $8 Billion+ School Infrastructure Needs.
▪ Priority five: Establish a Plan to Monitor Progress toward Leandro Compliance.
Fox said it’s a “moral and economic imperative” to help provide more state funding to help educate students, particularly those at high-poverty schools.
According to the forum’s 2020 Local School Finance Study also released on Tuesday, the 10 highest spending North Carolina counties spent on average $3,305 per student compared to an average of $782 per student by the 10 lowest spending counties. The forum said this gap of $2,523 per student is the largest since it began tracking this figure in 1987.
“We urge our state to take action to address these inequities across districts and schools so that students’ opportunities are no longer dictated by their zip code,” Fox said.
Several of the recommendations put the forum at odds with the Republican-led General Assembly. For instance, the forum wants a statewide school bond referendum on this year’s ballot, while GOP leaders want to use an alternative that doesn’t require voter approval.
The court order comes ahead of this year’s elections, where control of the governor’s mansion and the General Assembly are at stake.
“North Carolina lawmakers are already accomplishing these shared priorities of increasing funding for classroom learning, capital projects, teacher salaries, school safety and workforce training opportunities, and appreciate the support of their ongoing commitment to help students succeed in our state’s rapidly growing economy,” Joseph Kyzer, a spokesman for House Speaker Tim Moore, said Tuesday.
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 10:16 AM.
