North Carolina has been shut down for six months, 30 weeks, more than 200 days. The N.C. Constitution created a feeble executive branch, and its governor remained among the weakest in the nation. Until now. When the pandemic hit, Gov. Roy Cooper seized…
I spent several days with three students who are, by mandate from the governor and the Mecklenburg County school board, learning at home. Hayden, Stephen, and Caroline are in the third, sixth, and eighth grades, respectively. Their mom, Hillary, who is single, started a new job in…
The most important elections in North Carolina are the races for the N.C. Supreme Court. So, pay attention! Judges are easily forgotten amid presidential campaigns and Washington antics. Media obsessions and arguments over COVID-19 add to the din. But in a year when so many…
Virtual learning is taking a toll on Chloe Dixon’s children. Dixon took her eldest daughter out of public school because of mental health issues. She was able to send the girl to private school, but her two other children are still in public school in Cumberland…
Reopening schools is the top priority of Catherine Truitt, the Republican candidate for state superintendent. Truitt also wants to defend the Opportunity Scholarship program, but her Democratic opponent, Jen Mangrum, argues learning must take a back seat to teacher safety. Opportunity Scholarships provide low-income students up…
A group of teachers is prioritizing itself over students, experts say of recent tactics from the N.C. Association of Educators. About half of North Carolina’s school districts are closed for in-person instruction, while the other half have students alternating between learning in the classroom and attending…
A Union County judge has approved a deal calling on the state of North Carolina to boost education spending by more than $400 million a year. It’s the first stage of a plan that would lead to billions of dollars of new spending. The money is tied to the long-running…
Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. Falling behind: Senate Republicans are touting a study from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development that says…
School districts can allow elementary grade students to return to the classroom next month, Gov. Roy Cooper announced during a Sept. 17 news conference, but middle and high school students won’t have the same opportunity. The announcement — allowing local school districts to provide in-person instruction…
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden “will be the most pro-union president since [Franklin Roosevelt],” Jill Biden said of her husband Monday during a teleconference sponsored by a nurses’ union. “He will govern with the understanding that health care is a right, not a privilege.” The message…
