Opinion
Why NC’s Blue Ribbon Commission must succeed
We’ve done the easy part: setting the wheels in motion; the true test is what it can deliver and how quickly we get to work on executing reforms.
Opinion
School board elections take on new meaning in wake of Hurricane Helene
For many parents and voters, it is now a matter of deciding who will lead their schools in a post-Helene future.
Opinion
Carolinas united for academic excellence
CALN is a joint initiative of three think tanks — NC's John Locke Foundation, and SC's Palmetto Promise Institute and SC Policy Council — to support school-board members.
Opinion
New school board group sounds alarm on mediocre education putting ‘nation at risk’
Forty-one years ago, under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan, the National Commission on Excellence in Education found “a nation at risk.” If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we...
January 2024 – Support for School Choice a ‘Call to Action’ in North Carolina
Raleigh – North Carolinians overwhelmingly support school choice, according to the latest Carolina Journal Poll. The survey of 600 likely North Carolina voters found majority support for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), charter schools, private-school vouchers, and ‘backpack funding.’ A plurality of voters (48%) said they were unhappy with the quality of education students receive at...
Opinion
Some NC school districts resist implementing Parents Bill of Rights
Across the state, county by county, school boards are grappling with how to comply with the new Parents’ Bill of Rights, SB49. The Parents’ Bill of Rights was passed to spell out all of the rights parents have with regard to schools and healthcare decision-making. It also contains provisions to stop the indoctrination of young...
Opinion
Equity and excellence clash in Wake County Schools
The Wake County Board of Education, often perceived as lacking in public interest, hosted a working session on Oct. 3, 2023, which centered on the topic of equity. This session consisted of two distinct presentation parts: excellence and equity — both described as “integral” to Wake County’s ongoing strategic efforts to mitigate the learning losses...
Opinion
Partisan elections are the best kind
When I returned home to North Carolina from the nation’s capital in 1989 and subsequently registered to vote, I opted not to join a political party. Although my conservative views were already well-established — and publicly on display in the syndicated newspaper column I’d created three years earlier — I considered it inappropriate for a...
Opinion
Parents made their voices heard in 2022 school-board races
North Carolina school board race results are a strong reminder that, despite the reopening of schools and loosening of pandemic restrictions, the parent revolt continues in the state. Parents across many North Carolina counties feel unheard, that their choices within schools are infringed upon, and, most importantly, that students’ basic educational needs are not being...
Opinion
Hillary Clinton says ‘right wing’ might steal 2024 election and other outrageous stories
Hillary Clinton warns ‘right-wing extremists’ could ‘steal’ 2024 election A whole lot of projection going on here. Maybe it’s another one of those “vast right wing conspiracies” Clinton loves to fall back on when something isn’t going her way. Are the elections fair and secure or not? Pelosi insists Democrats should ‘change that subject’ on...
Opinion
Hyper-political culture means added importance for school board races
While working the polls last week, I approached voters about school board races. Some looked straight ahead and marched towards the door, assuring me they were “all set.” Others were curious and open, willing to take the literature. But then I encountered voters who would recoil, furrowing their brows, and stopping me with hand gestures...
Opinion
Why the midterms matter more than ever
In his inimitable style, the great English essayist, Samuel Johnson, boomed (he rarely spoke) that what is known isn’t always obvious and what is obvious isn’t always present. Before I am charged with stating the obvious, let me remind readers that Alfred North Whitehead said it takes extraordinary intelligence to contemplate the obvious. So, let’s...
