New Report Details “Devastating financial cuts” From Mark Robinson’s Plan to Reject Federal School Funding in NCLatest News Year in Review

New Report Details "Devastating financial cuts" From Mark Robinson's Plan to Reject Federal School Funding in NC

Under Robinson, North Carolina's public schools could have their funding slashed by over a billion dollars

A new report from the nonpartisan North Carolina Justice Center reveals the true cost to the state's public schools if Mark Robinson were elected governor, and followed through on his plans to reject federal funding for public education. For the 2023-2024 school year, North Carolina public schools received $1.7 billion from the federal government.

Here are the key findings from today's must-read report:

• Federal funding provides nearly ten percent of funding for the state's public schools, and Robinson's plan to reject that funding would lead to immediate staff shortages.
• Robinson's plan would eliminate the positions of over 6,000 teachers, over 4,000 teaching assistants, and nearly 3,000 school support staff.
• Robinson rejecting federal funding would also disproportionately hurt students with disabilities and students from low-income working families, slashing funding for these students by 26 and 53 percent, respectively.
• The report notes that districts serving students with greater needs "would experience bigger budget cuts than districts that have more resources and fewer students from low income families" and that cuts would "undoubtedly exacerbate the state's persistent racial and economic opportunity gaps."
• Robinson's plan would raise the cost of breakfast and lunch for the thousands of students who rely on reduced or free-price meals.

As the report notes, under Mark Robinson's extreme agenda, "North Carolina taxpayers would be subsidizing students in other states while our students languish in under-resourced and inequitably funded schools."

"Mark Robinson's dangerous plan to reject federal funding for public education comes with a massive price tag that would slash North Carolina jobs and make schools worse for millions of students and families across the state," said DGA National Press Secretary Devon Cruz. "North Carolinians need a governor who will create opportunity and invest in public schools that set students up for success - not an extremist who will slash jobs, gut schools, and drag North Carolina backwards."

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