Ahead of the upcoming short legislative session, the Democrat-controlled North Carolina State Board of Education is asking lawmakers in Raleigh to raise school personnel salaries across the board while cutting funding for the state’s popular voucher program, according to a set of recommendations endorsed on Feb. 5.
The pay increases wouldn’t apply to public school teachers exclusively, but also to administrators and all certified and non-certified staff. The goal is to bring teacher pay to “the highest in the Southeast” while restoring master’s pay for all educators, according to the recommendations.
Among other priorities, the state board also requested over $150 million to buy electronic devices for students in the classroom over a four-year timespan, $377 million for free school meals, $198 million for special education, $117 million for school construction, and $64 million for school health personnel.
Meanwhile, the state board wants lawmakers to put a moratorium on funding for the state’s voucher, the Opportunity Scholarship Program, and offer no new awards to students beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.
“Redirect the funding appropriated for new Opportunity Scholarships for the 2026-27 fiscal year to addressing needs in our public schools,” the proposal reads. “Future funding increases for the Opportunity Scholarship Program should be limited to the annual percentage increase in funding for the State Public School Fund.”
The state board made a similar request in 2025, and Democratic Gov. Josh Stein also called for eliminating the program in his proposed budget last year.
“The Democrat-controlled State Board of Education’s recommendations are not likely to get serious consideration by the Republican-led General Assembly,” said Dr. Robert Luebke, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation. “Some version of teacher pay will likely get approved by the legislature because teachers need better pay. The House has been more generous on teacher pay raises than the spend-thrift Senate. Where a compromise falls, however, is anyone’s guess.”
“A moratorium on new funding for the state’s popular voucher program is not likely to happen,” Luebke added. “Gov. Stein and his predecessor have both tried to zero out the program. However, with almost 104,000 students and support from 64% of voters, it’s safe to say the Opportunity Scholarship Program is here to stay.”
The state board voted 8-2 to approve the funding request package, with Republican state Treasurer Brad Briner and Republican appointee Olivia Oxendine voting no.
The entire request would total over $1 billion, but Briner pointed out that the projected increase for the entire state budget from the General Assembly is only $100 million.
“There is a lot more prioritization that I would want to see before we put this in front of the General Assembly,” Briner said.
State board Vice Chairman Alan Duncan, a Democratic appointee, said the state needs to “return our focus to teaching in the classroom, and by that I mean raising compensation for teachers and getting the higher quality teachers in the classroom and administrators.”
Applications for the Opportunity Scholarship Program are currently open for the 2026-2027 school year.