NC enrollment data show shift away from traditional public schools
Good morning and welcome to Under the Dome. I’m Sophia Bailly.
Parts of North Carolina are still recovering from Chantal, which moved across the state over the weekend bringing heavy wind and rain. We’ve got an update on the storm damage, but first, T. Keung Hui highlights a milestone moment in a big shift going on in education.
ENROLLMENT DATA SHOW SHIFT AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS
For likely the first time in North Carolina history, more than a quarter of the state’s students no longer are attending traditional public schools.
An N&O analysis of new state enrollment figures released last week shows 25.1% of the state’s 1.8 million students attended a private school, charter school or were homeschooled for the 2024-25 school year. The percentage of students attending the state’s 115 school districts had dropped from 86.5% in 2010 to 74.9% in 2025.
The shift over the last 15 years coincides with major legislative changes such as creation of the Opportunity Scholarship program and elimination of the state cap on the number of charter schools.
The shift accelerated during the pandemic. Since the 2019-20 school year, enrollment has fallen in traditional public schools while rising in charter schools, private schools and in homeschools.
The impact has been even more noticeable in North Carolina’s two largest school districts. The percentage of students attending traditional public schools has dropped to 74.2% in Wake County and 69.8% in Mecklenburg County.
School choice supporters have called the change a victory for parents. But supporters of traditional public schools worry that it could lead to erosion of funding and public support.
– T. Keung Hui
COMMUNITIES CONTINUE RECOVERY FOLLOWING CHANTAL
Seven to eight hours of heavy rain occurred at any one point in the state late Sunday and into Monday morning, according to Owen Shieh, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
Amber Hazzard, a reporter for The N&O and a Mass Media Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, broke down the classifications of these kinds of storms, defined as tropical cyclones.
A cyclone’s strength is measured by its wind speeds, which often predict the extent of property damage; but this was not the case for Chantal.
By the time it reached North Carolina, the tropical storm had downgraded to a tropical depression, the lowest cyclone classification. Yet it left behind plenty of damage:
- The Eno River flooded Hillsborough’s Expedition School, which is set to welcome students back from summer break at the end of July.
- Graham and Burlington in Alamance County and Hillsborough in Orange County issued boil water alerts following Chantal.
- Orange, Person, Alamance, Chatham and Durham counties faced the most devastation Sunday evening, with broken roadways and downed power lines.
- The state confirmed five deaths as of Tuesday evening, The N&O’s Lexi Solomon and Dawn Vaughan report.
WHAT ELSE WE’RE WORKING ON
▪ Gov. Josh Stein urged state Republicans to be “fiscally prudent” following Congress’ passage of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan has the story. Stein anticipates the megabill will add another layer of financial strain as the General Assembly is entering its second week of recess without a budget. Plans to reconvene are pending.
▪ Fayetteville State University is keeping more students on campus. The N&O’s Ronni Butts reports that a summer-school scholarship program helped bring the university’s retention rate from 63% in 2020 to a projected 80% in 2025. The scholarship offers tuition-free classes, room and board. About 59% of FSU students are Pell grant recipients, signifying an already high level of financial need.
▪ Federal lawsuits moving forward against NC State University over allegations of ignoring sexual abuse by a sports trainer could gain three more plaintiffs, The N&O’s Virginia Bridges reports. Three former male athletes have filed lawsuits since 2022 alleging abuse and harassment by longtime director of sports medicine, Robert Murphy, who resigned that year and has not faced criminal charges. NC State disputes that it had warning of abuse.
Today’s newsletter was by Sophia Bailly. Check your inbox Thursday for more #ncpol.
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