The Republican and Democratic candidates for state superintendent had similar positions on the causes of school re-segregation and the need to find common ground. On school choice, however, they couldn’t have been more different. Candidates vying for the job took part in a forum Friday, Feb. 7, to make the case for why they should...
Sen. Deanna Ballard, R-Watauga, wants the presiding judge in the Leandro case to share his perspective on education policy before the Senate Education Committee. Ballard, a co-chair of the Senate committee, sent Superior Court Judge David Lee a letter Tuesday, Feb. 4, inviting him to speak to committee members during the upcoming short session, which...
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. Here’s a week in review: New CEO: Amy O. Cooke has joined the John Locke Foundation as its new CEO. Cooke is also the new publisher of Carolina Journal. Before joining...
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional comments from Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union. The long-running Leandro case hasn’t led to a constitutional bombshell — as some experts feared — but, after years of waiting, presiding Judge David Lee has finally set the stage for action. Lee issued a 34-page order Tuesday, Jan. 21,...
Twenty-five years ago, Robert Leandro and his mother, Kathleen Leandro, lent their name to one of the most significant education lawsuits in North Carolina history. At the time, the family lived in Raeford, a town with a small tax base and a struggling economy. Robert attended a local high school. Robert, speaking to Scalawag Magazine...
North Carolina’s Republican legislators say they were left out of focus groups for a major education report that could seriously affect future policymaking. On Dec. 10, a 300-page report from research nonprofit WestEd was disclosed to the public. The dense document is a key piece in the decades-old Leandro case. But top Republican lawmakers —...
On the questions of how much to fund and how to deliver public education, there is no research consensus broad enough to convert into a legal mandate. There never will be.
North Carolina should make it easier for public school teachers to grow professionally, and for principals to spend money and direct personnel as they see fit, a pivotal new education report says. Unfortunately, media chatter about inadequate school funding is overshadowing these important recommendations, an expert says. On Tuesday, Dec. 10, a 300-page report from...
A long-anticipated report from an education consulting group suggests North Carolina should boost public school spending by at least $8 billion over the next eight years to satisfy its constitutional obligations. The report doesn’t address where policymakers will get the money. The 300-page report from WestEd, a California-based firm, is the latest development in the...
Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union, said he wouldn’t be surprised if a judge orders the state to spend more on education. But it would spark a constitutional crisis. “The constitution of North Carolina is very clear as to who has the authority to appropriate money,” Horn said. “I don’t know that it is constitutional for a...
One of the most significant documents in N.C. public education is being kept under lock and key. The WestEd report is supposed to restart proceedings in the Leandro court case. After 25 years, the dispute over education opportunities hasn’t found a conclusion. The parties in the long-running Leandro case agreed to commission an independent third...
