“It’s a betrayal”: Roy Cooper appointee helping NC Republicans thwart Leandro funding | Opinion

It’s no surprise that Republican state lawmakers asked the now Republican-majority state Supreme Court this week to block the imminent distribution of education funds in the Leandro case.

But it was unexpected that the state controller – a longtime associate of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper – also asked the court to allow him to resist an order to distribute the funds until all legal challenges are exhausted.

Nels Roseland, the state’s chief fiscal officer, filed a motion Wednesday asking that he not be compelled to release state funds as called for by the state Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the long-running Leandro case. The motions filed by the controller and the state lawmakers were first reported by The Carolina Journal, a publication of the conservative John Locke Foundation.

Roseland’s siding with Republicans in seeking to block the funding angered Cooper’s supporters, who say the controller blindsided the governor who appointed him.

“We put him in there so he would do the right thing,” said one of Cooper’s close supporters. “It’s a betrayal of Cooper and the schoolchildren of North Carolina.”

A statement from Roseland’s office said the state controller has asked the state Supreme Court court “to determine whether he and his staff are subject to statutory civil and criminal penalties for executing judicial appropriations” that have not been approved by the legislature. The controller also wants more clarity about how the money would be allocated.

Cooper said in a statement: “Republican legislative leaders and the Controller are grasping frivolously at legal straws to dodge their constitutional duty. This is a baseless attack to delay action and avoid doing what’s right for North Carolina schoolchildren.”

Roseland served under Cooper at the state Department of Justice as deputy chief of staff and chief financial officer for more than 14 years during Cooper’s tenure as state attorney general. As governor, Cooper named Roseland to the post of deputy state budget director, where he served for more than five years before being appointed state controller. His confirmation to a seven-year term was completed by a unanimous vote of the state House on Thursday. The Senate unanimously confirmed him on Tuesday.

The state Supreme Court ruled on Nov. 4 that the trial judge in the Leandro case should determine how much money the schools should receive under an agreement in the case and the state controller should release the funds despite the General Assembly’s opposition.

That state Supreme Court ruling found that the state constitutional right to a sound basic education supersedes the legislature’s control over state funds. The ruling came along partisan lines when Democratic justices held a 4-3 majority. The results of the November election flipped the court to a 5-2 Republican majority.

Roseland’s motion calls for the state Supreme Court to reinstate a state Court of Appeals “writ of proclamation” that protects the controller from being compelled to release funds under an order from the Leandro trial judge. Roseland’s predecessor, Linda Combs, sought the protection because she said distributing state funds without the legislature’s approval might violate the state constitution and expose her to arrest.

The Republican lawmakers’ motion is another round in a power struggle between Cooper and the legislature over school funding. The state Supreme Court settled the issue for the next two years, but lawmakers are kicking up dust to stall the funding until they can get the court to reverse the ruling.

Roseland’s motion is equally specious. The court’s ruling defined the prevailing law in this case. Roseland could emphasize that by asking for an opinion from the state attorney general.

The idea that the state controller would be at legal risk for complying with the law as interpreted by the state’s highest court is without merit, but full of intrigue.

This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 5:09 PM.