As the school year begins, Governor Roy Cooper will continue "The Year of Public Schools," highlighting the amazing things happening in North Carolina public schools and urging the legislature to fully fund public education and make meaningful investments in teacher pay.

While public school teachers and students took their summer break, Republican lawmakers continued their dangerous efforts to spend taxpayer dollars on vouchers for unaccountable, unregulated private schools. Republican leaders of the House and Senate agreed to spend an additional $460 million on private school vouchers before pausing negotiations. Funds that Republican legislators plan to allocate to their voucher scheme could be used to invest in public schools, including providing a substantial pay raise for teachers.

Republican legislators continue to push harmful policies that undermine and underfund public education. The General Assembly is neglecting North Carolina's public schools, where more than 8 in 10 of school-aged children in our state learn each day. There are amazing things happening in North Carolina public schools:

• North Carolina has the highest number of National Board-certified teachers in the country.
• In the 2022-2023 school year, North Carolina public school students earned over 325,000 workforce credentials.
• The graduation rate in 2023 was 87%, one of the highest numbers in our state's history.

Instead of funneling hundreds of millions more taxpayer dollars toward vouchers for unaccountable private schools that would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest demographic in the state, the legislature should fully fund public education so our state's public schools, educators and students have the resources they need to thrive.

In April, Governor Cooper released his recommended budget for FY 2024-2025, Securing North Carolina's Future which would invest over $1 billion in North Carolina's public schools, raise teacher pay by 8.5% and provide a $1,500 retention bonus for teachers across the board.

Governor Cooper declared 2024 as the Year of Public Schools and has been visiting public schools and early childhood education programs across the state calling for investments in K-12 education, early childhood education and teacher pay.

Read "The Year of Public Schools" proclamation here.

Read more about the truth of North Carolina's voucher program here.

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Related Topics:

• Education