NC judge backs a $427 million plan to improve public schools. But will it get funded?
A North Carolina judge has approved a plan that calls for spending $427 million this year to improve the state’s public education system.
But it’s questionable whether the money will be provided.
The $427 million action plan developed by the State Board of Education and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration includes pay raises for teachers, increasing funding for at-risk students and expanding early childhood education programs.
Superior Court Judge David Lee said at a court hearing Tuesday he’d sign a consent order carrying out the plan intended to help the state meet its constitutional obligation to provide students a sound basic education.
“We are constitutionally mandated to move these issues forward, and I’m as committed as ever to complying with that constitutional mandate without anybody getting in the way,” said Lee, who is in charge of overseeing the long-running Leandro school funding lawsuit.
Plan depends on money from state lawmakers
But Lee and other participants at the online court hearing also acknowledged that the plan needs money from the Republican-led General Assembly. Lee said he’s hoping to get feedback from state lawmakers on the plan.
“We can do the plan, we can formulate it,” said Amar Majmundar, senior NC deputy attorney general. “There are obviously going to be some external forces that impact the viability of any plan.”
Senate Republican leaders criticized Lee on Tuesday, saying he had declined their invitation to speak with them before signing the consent order. Republicans also pointed to an interview that Judge Howard Manning, who was in charge of the Leandro case before he retired, recently gave to WRAL.
“Judge Manning had it exactly right when he blasted the focus on money instead of quality,” Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Republican from Watauga County and co-chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said in a news release. “Republicans have increased education funding by $1,748 per student, but that doesn’t matter if children aren’t being taught properly.
“It’s so disappointing that the new Leandro judge, David Lee, wouldn’t even speak to legislators about this issue before issuing a consent order.”
The Leandro case
The long-running 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.
In a January court order, Lee said the state is further behind than it was in the 1990s in terms of providing students with a sound basic education. He backed a consultant’s report that found the state isn’t providing enough funding for education.
Lee ordered the state to “work expeditiously and without delay to take all necessary actions.”
Lee will get an update in December on compliance with the court order, followed by quarterly updates. If the money isn’t provided this year, it may be included as part of an eight-year plan that will be developed by the state.
Serving at-risk students during pandemic
The court hearing took place during a time when the majority of school districts are only offering online courses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Republican lawmakers have complained that the lack of daily in-person classes is hurting at-risk students.
“Progress in education cannot come about by an order from a judge who declines to even speak to the legislature,” the Senate GOP said in Tuesday’s news release.
The state board and Cooper are using some of the federal CARES funding provided to the state to carry out the court order, which Lee applauded on Tuesday.
“We are all laboring under very difficult circumstances,” Lee said. “Certainly nonetheless it’s important that we remember those who are so much in need of educational assistance during this time of pandemic and trying to deliver those services, I know, is an overwhelming task for many school administrators, principals and teachers.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 12:15 PM.
