NC school children deserve better than childish excuses
On Tuesday, the Wake County Board of Education approved a resolution urging North Carolina lawmakers to fund the more than $5.6 billion education plan ordered by a state court. The board’s decision adds to a growing list of officials and boards pushing for the Republican-led legislation to comply with meeting its constitutional obligation to ensure students have access to sound basic education.
- Despite the growing push for the state to fully fund schools, Republicans continue to show resistance to adhering to the state constitution — latching onto tired, desperate excuses rather than ensuring students have access to quality education.
- When lawmakers are sitting on a $6.5 billion surplus, federal stimulus and relief funds, the state can rightfully afford to invest in schools, our educators and students.
For too long, the Republican-led legislation has relied on penny pinching our schools funding which has resulted in decades of neglect. Compounded with the COVID-19 pandemic, our schools are not only facing crumbling infrastructures and lack of resources, but statewide staffing shortages.
Equitable funding, as laid out in the Leandro plan, would allow districts to tackle these long-standing unmet needs and close the gaps for students who have disproportionately paid the highest price for the state’s negligence.
Yet, with no indications of adhering to the state court order or offering up an alternative plan to bring our schools into constitutional compliance, Republicans are once again saying that the constitutional rights of students across the state are far less important than their tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.
