Vouchers: Racist legacy, help the wealthy, hurt rural counties

by 3 Comments

RALEIGH (March 12, 2025) – This is our final planned post to address misinformation about North Carolina’s taxpayer-funded private school vouchers. To access the series of five posts, follow this link. Here are the facts: •NC taxpayer money funneled to private school vouchers DOES divert money from local, neighborhood public schools. Every tax dollar that… READ MORE

A glimmer of hope for teacher pay?

by 1 Comment

RALEIGH (March 6, 2025) – North Carolina treats its public-school teachers horribly. But there might be a glimmer of hope. The state has languished toward the bottom of national rankings on teacher pay for the past 10 years. North Carolina dropped to 38th place last year in average teacher pay – almost $13,000 below the… READ MORE

We have a winner!

by 1 Comment

RALEIGH (March 6, 2025) – Apparently a math teacher knows how to play the odds. Erin Walsh – who has taught for more than 30 years in Onslow County Schools – won our drawing among teachers who submitted Teachers Talk videos for two tickets to the UNC-Duke basketball game on Saturday. In her video, Walsh… READ MORE

Squirrelly DEI logic

by Leave a Comment

RALEIGH (March 6, 2025) – Call it the DEI squirrel. Wade Maki, a pony-tailed philosophy lecturer at UNC Greensboro and Chair of the UNC System Faculty Assembly, speaks at every meeting of the UNC System’s Board of Governors. And Maki has a unique way to underscore the absurdity of the current hysteria over diversity, equity… READ MORE

Dream jobs at Biltmore

by Leave a Comment

By Eric Johnson ASHEVILLE (March 6, 2025) – The Biltmore Estate is a vast and quirky enterprise, and it takes an incredible range of expertise to keep the place running. As I learned on a recent visit, a lot of that expertise comes from North Carolina’s public colleges and universities. There is always intense debate… READ MORE

Tuition at UNC System schools stays flat for the 9th straight year

by 1 Comment

RALEIGH (February 27, 2025) – For the ninth straight year, the UNC Board of Governors voted today to hold tuition constant at all 16 UNC System universities. For in-state students. North Carolina’s state constitution includes a provision that says, “The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other… READ MORE

Heather Norris named App State Chancellor

by Leave a Comment

RALEIGH (February 27, 2025) – The UNC Board of Governors named Dr. Heather Norris, who has served as Appalachian State University’s Interim Chancellor since last April, as the university’s permanent Chancellor today. Norris succeeds Sheri Everts, who resigned last year citing health issues after 10 years as the university’s chancellor. Appalachian State has grown dramatically,… READ MORE

Forsyth Tech wins the ‘Heisman’ of community colleges

by Leave a Comment

WINSTON-SALEM (February 26, 2025) – A Forsyth Technical Community College program that starts working with students in middle school to prepare them for college has won what’s known as the Heisman Trophy for community colleges. The College Lift program at Forsyth Tech was named the winner of the Bellwether Award for Instructional Programs and Services… READ MORE

NC makes gains toward 2M by 2030 attainment goal

by Leave a Comment

RALEIGH (February 21, 2025) – North Carolina set an ambitious goal in 2019 to have 2 million citizens ages 25-44 with high-quality credentials or postsecondary degrees by 2030. Several years in – and after a global pandemic and severe flooding in western North Carolina – we’re behind on reaching that goal. But not as behind… READ MORE