Education
As Republicans lawmakers are supporting an Aug. 17 opening date for the upcoming school year, a new poll finds North Carolinians are deeply divided about the best way to send students and teachers back. Currently, the state has required each school district to have three plans with different levels of social distancing. One plan puts…
Read MoreNews & Observer: Judge said NC schools need more money. But Phil Berger says COVID-19 may limit that
Since mid-March, North Carolina’s public schools have been closed due to the pandemic, forcing schools to move to remote learning. The pandemic has put on display the inequities of the state’s education system. Decades of cuts has left the education system without the structure to assist students who are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.…
Read MoreTwo weeks after meeting to approve a $1.6 billion package that distributed COVID-19 funds from Washington, the North Carolina General Assembly resumed its annual session on Monday. Republicans in the N.C. Senate unveiled spending priorities on Tuesday for the coming fiscal year, rolling out more than 18 separate bills. The N.C. house has yet to…
Read MoreBy Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter A new coalition of left-leaning groups came together over the last month and a half, and it’s pushing state leaders to address economic inequality as government responds to COVID-19, and longer term. The group, NC United for Survival & Beyond, lists some 200 organizations as members. Many are smaller grassroots operations,…
Read MoreAccording to research by the Public School Forum of North Carolina, the student funding gap between the wealthiest and poorest counties in NC, has substantially expanded. During the 2017-2018 school year, the Local School Finance Study found that the difference in spending between the 10 wealthiest districts and10 lowest-spending districts, was $2,523 per student. This…
Read MoreOn Friday, a judge imposed a 45-day deadline on the Sons of Confederate Veterans to return the Silent Sam statue to the University of North Carolina. This comes after the Orange County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour’s ruling that the Sons of Confederate Veterans must return the remaining balance of the $2.5 million bribe that…
Read MoreTwo members of the ECU Board of Trustees have confirmed North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore’s interest in seeking the open chancellor’s position at East Carolina University. The two board members, who remain anonymous, told NC Policy Watch about discussions among members of the UNC Board of Governors about Moore’s candidacy. On Monday, East Carolina…
Read MoreWith the recent decision in the Leandro case, an advocate group says NC must take ‘immediate action’ to meet the state’s Constitutional obligation to provide students with a sound basic education. In January, Superior Court Judge David Lee signed a court order in the long-running Leandro school funding case ordering state leaders to provide enough…
Read MoreLast week was a win for UNC students, faculty and alumni as a state judge vacated the UNC settlement over Silent Sam. Judge Allen Baddour held a hearing to reconsider his initial approval of the deal back in November, now ruling that the SCV did not have standing to bring the lawsuit in the first…
Read MoreNews & Observer: One ECU trustee resigns, another is censured after they meddled in student election
One member of the East Carolina University Board of Trustees abruptly resigned and another was censured during a hearing before the UNC Board of Governors last Friday. ECU Trustees Phil Lewis and Robert Moore were brought before the BOG after evidence revealed the two members offered money for an ECU student to run for SGA…
Read More