A plurality of North Carolina residents oppose raising taxes to fund public schools, and no partisan group, including Democrats, reaches majority support for the idea, according to a new Catawba College–YouGov survey released April 7.
Just 27% of North Carolinians agree the state should raise taxes to increase public school funding, while 47% disagree. Democrats are the most supportive of any partisan group at 43%, but that falls short of a majority. Nearly half of independents, 47%, and two-thirds of Republicans, 67%, oppose the idea.
“With the end of the nearly thirty-year Leandro case and its multibillion dollar plan to address educational inequalities between poor and rich counties, only 27 percent of North Carolinians would support raising taxes for public schools,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service at Catawba College, in a statement.
The results dropped shortly after the NC Supreme Court’s dismissal last week of the long-running Leandro school funding case, which ruled that every decision made in the case since 2017 was void. The 4-3 ruling ends decades of litigation centered on whether courts could compel the state to fund remedial education plans, returning those spending decisions to the General Assembly.
The Catawba poll results come as state education spending has already been climbing. A Carolina Journal analysis of NC Department of Public Instruction data shows total state funding for public schools rose from $12.60 billion in 2024-25 to $12.75 billion in 2025-26 — even as enrollment fell by roughly 4,700 students. On a per-pupil basis, state spending has climbed nearly 27% over the past seven years, from an estimated $6,548 per student in 2018-19 to $8,312 in 2025-26.
“The results suggest two things,” said Robert Luebke, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation. “First, North Carolinians are tired of rising prices. They see gas and grocery prices going up. It’s a painful and everyday reality. Second, the results suggest that the reservoir of good will and trust the public schools enjoyed is eroding. The growing popularity of charter schools and the Opportunity Scholarship Programs points to that. I also think people are weary of not seeing good outcomes in education. Many are doubtful that a significant investment in tax dollars will result in substantive improvements. And it’s an issue public schools must address.”
The poll also asked North Carolinians for their views on federalizing elections and immigration issues.
On the first topic, the poll found that nearly half of respondents oppose the federal government taking over election administration and vote counting in North Carolina specifically, compared to 25% who support it. Democrats were strongly opposed at 75%, while 55% of independents oppose the idea. Republicans backed the proposal by 53%.
“With President Trump’s repeated calls for federalizing elections and recent actions regarding mail-in voting, North Carolinians are clear: they oppose federal overreach in administering elections,” Bitzer said.
Opposition to federal control is nearly as strong when asked about other states: 48% oppose the idea nationally, with 27% in support.
On voting access, 57% said they support allowing early voting sites on college and university campuses, including 81% of Democrats, 56% of independents, and a plurality of Republicans at 42%.
On immigration, the poll revealed a distinction in how North Carolinians view different groups. Six-in-ten say legal immigrants have a positive impact on the state — including majorities of Democrats, independents, and Republicans. Views on illegal immigrants are more negative: Just 34% say they have a positive impact, while 45% say the impact is negative.
North Carolinians are divided on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the state, with 41% opposing ICE’s presence and 39% in support. The divide falls along partisan lines: 81% of Republicans back ICE, while 71% of Democrats and 47% of independents oppose it.
“Not surprisingly, it’s a partisan division that drives these numbers, with 83 percent of Trump 2024 voters supporting ICE in the state, while 78 percent of Harris 2024 voters are opposed,” Bitzer said.
The poll surveyed 1,000 North Carolina adults and was conducted March 9–18 by YouGov on behalf of Catawba College. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.58 percentage points.