How long will we let NC leaders deny Black children a sound education? | Opinion

Thanks to generations of Black North Carolinians fighting for an equal education for all, over a million children from every walk of life are welcomed into a N.C. public school every day.

Our state constitution has enshrined the right of every child to a free public education for over 150 years. On March 3, the N.C. Supreme Court’s new Republican majority blocked enforcement of a trial judge’s order to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to fund public schools.

Our civil rights struggle teaches us that with each step we make toward justice, a corresponding “whitelash” can be expected to follow. One way that has taken root in North Carolina in recent years is in the manufactured panic over critical race theory. Another way: Friday’s court ruling in the landmark Leandro school funding lawsuit.

These attacks aim to minimize our influence and silence our voices. They’re also intended to deflect our attention away from the work that isn’t getting done at the N.C. legislature: funding our children’s education. Backlash from the Leandro case has resulted in steady dismantling of educational opportunities through deliberate underfunding of education and blatant resistance to fulfilling court rulings in the case.

Leandro is the most consequential civil rights case related to education in N.C. history, thanks to families in five eastern counties who organized nearly 30 years ago and sued the state for allowing disparities in educational funding to persist. The case stands on the principle that all of our children must have access to a sound, basic education as mandated by our state constitution. No excuses, no exceptions.

After years of failed progress and resistance from both Democrats and Republicans, we finally achieved back-to-back victories in the Leandro case. The first came in 2021 with the court ordering the state to fully fund and implement an eight-year action plan designed to invest almost $6 billion in our schools and lift the quality of education up to our constitutional standard for every child. The second came in November 2022 when the N.C. Supreme Court ruled that the state had to release Leandro Plan funds.

Just as swiftly as that ruling was granted, the anticipated backlash came. Legislative leaders filed a motion to disregard precedent and reconsider this case just two months after it was decided — even though nothing has changed factually or procedurally — and on March 3 the N.C. Supreme Court ruled in their favor.

The ongoing efforts to withhold funds intended to create a more equitable education for children of color and highly vulnerable students is rooted in the need to some white leaders to control resources. What else explains this persistent opposition to Leandro?

Polls show that 85% of North Carolinians support increasing teacher pay, 88% support investments in public school infrastructure, 90% believe greater investments are needed in education and workforce training. And, 82% support increased investments in early childhood education, including majorities from both political parties.

Why, then, are we continuously ranked among the lowest states in the nation for funding education, per pupil spending, and teacher pay? Currently, we hold the disgraceful position of being ranked dead last in the nation for our K-12 funding efforts.

As Bishop William Barber II has pointed out, budgets are moral documents. We hold these ignominious distinctions because of a lack of political will.

The racism at the root of underfunding our public schools exposes the cynical position that investing public dollars into public education is a lost cause. Opponents will claim that money cannot solve the problems with our education system. They will blame teachers, parents, and the people in the communities where these children live. Most egregiously, they will blame the students themselves, by suggesting they are incapable or uninterested in learning.

If history has proven anything, it is that hate and fear fuel our worst impulses as a nation. What history has also proven is that people of conscience and character will have the power to open doors that others have kept closed.

It is high time for North Carolina lawmakers to invest in our children. No more delays. No more denials. We must demand the funding mandated by the courts for the Leandro Plan and do it now. Our children can no longer afford to wait.

Editor’s note: Eleven other North Carolina civil rights advocates signed on to this op-ed. They are: Letha Muhammad, Rodney D. Pierce, Jerry Wilson, Kellie Easton, Rev. Paul Ford, Willette Nash, Angus Thompson II, Shaun McMillan, Shalonda Regan, Deborah Dicks Maxwell and Jackie McLean.

This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 8:45 AM with the headline "How long will we let NC leaders deny Black children a sound education? | Opinion."