- “We’ve got reinvent education in North Carolina,” said Rep. Lambeth. “We’ve done some good things, but we haven’t done enough. If you look at enrollments in our K-12 schools, it’s going down, all across the state. Parents have other options, and they’re choosing those other options.”
North Carolina House lawmakers are pushing forward a bill to study whether larger public school districts would function better as smaller ones.
Lawmakers in the House K-12 Education Committee considered the measure, House Bill 82, on Tuesday. The bill would create a study commission to evaluate whether the size of public school districts impacts the quality of education provided to students. The commission would explore topics such as resource allocation, student performance, and operational efficiencies in both small and large districts, as well as consider possible recommendations for changes.
Supporters argue that the study could provide valuable data to inform decisions on educational funding and restructuring.
Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, is a primary sponsor of the bill. He said that almost a third of North Carolina kids go to the five largest school districts in the state, but the top-performing districts are all lower-enrollment districts. He added that North Carolina ranks 43rd among the 50 states in terms of the size of school districts.
“We’ve got reinvent education in North Carolina,” Lambeth said. “We’ve done some good things, but we haven’t done enough. If you look at enrollments in our K-12 schools, it’s going down, all across the state. Parents have other options, and they’re choosing those other options in part because of better performance and lower number of kids enrolled.”
Critics say that any potential recommendations that could lead to significant restructuring without careful consideration of community impact.
“I question how breaking up a school district like the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system or the Wake County school system is actually going to net an improvement to students without reducing say, for example, the buying power of the larger districts when it comes to purchasing supplies or when it comes to filling teacher vacancies,” said Rep. Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg.
The commission would be composed of nine members: A chair appointed jointly by Senate and House leadership, two members appointed by the House speaker, two members appointed by the Senate president, two additional members appointed by House and Senate leadership from the school boards of the five largest districts, and two members recommended by the Department of Public Instruction.
The proposed structure of the commission drew questions from Democrats during the committee hearing.
“I think we would all like education to be nonpartisan,” said Rep. Cynthia Ball, D-Wake, “When I look at how the membership would be appointed, it is primarily by the leaders of our House and Senate, in the majority. Even the members of the Department of Public Instruction are jointly appointed. So, I just make the comment that perhaps the bill could be improved … if the makeup of the committee was different.”