By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works ELIZABETHTOWN (February 13, 2025) – Bladen County is one of 78 rural counties in North Carolina suffering the consequences of state underfunding in public schools. Bladen County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jason Atkinson grew up in the county that’s located between Fayetteville and Wilmington and came back in 2021 to… READ MORE
Is the NC Senate letting our state down?
By Doug Shackelford and Paul Fulton Public Ed Works RALEIGH (February 12, 2026) – It’s been nine months since the North Carolina House passed a bipartisan budget that would finally give our schoolchildren the support they need and the teachers the pay they deserve. The House plan would raise starting teacher salaries to $50,000 next… READ MORE
Bilas on teacher pay: ‘That’s how North Carolina wins’
CHARLOTTE (February 5, 2026) – ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas doesn’t hesitate to share opinions. And he has thoughts about how North Carolina treats its public school teachers. In the accompanying video, Bilas recounts how he and his wife raised their children here and sent them to North Carolina schools, living in Charlotte for the… READ MORE
UNC should not close its Global Studies Centers
By Lloyd Kramer CHAPEL HILL (January 22, 2026) – The recent announcement that UNC-Chapel Hill plans to close its six thriving Global Studies Centers is the wrong response to current financial and political challenges. Although I retired from the History Department’s faculty in 2024, this plan for closing the Centers has provoked my Tar Heel… READ MORE
Education Lottery needs a new name
RALEIGH (January 7, 2026) – We need to either revamp the so-called North Carolina Education Lottery or remove ‘Education’ from its name. It’s a scam – a fraud the state of North Carolina perpetrates on its own citizens. Audit results released last week revealed that just 16% of dollars spent on the so-called “Education” Lottery… READ MORE
No Christmas for North Carolina
By Douglas Shackelford and Paul Fulton CHAPEL HILL (December 3, 2025) – Once again, for the second time in seven years, the NC General Assembly has failed to pass a budget.1 Our state stands alone as the only one in the country unable to complete its most basic responsibility. While every other state managed to fund… READ MORE
General Assembly should pause tax cuts, invest $1B in affordability
By Sally Hodges-Copple N.C Budget & Tax Center RALEIGH (December 3, 2025) – Unless leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly change course before the end of the year, Jan. 1 will bring unhappy news for North Carolinians fed up with the rising cost of living. That’s the date that yet another round of state… READ MORE
Educators exit NC for better pay
By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works RALEIGH (November 20, 2025) – North Carolina teachers and administrators are packing their bags and hitting the road after finding they can almost double their income in other states. Social studies teacher Nicholas Bailey transferred from Onslow County Schools in North Carolina to Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia… READ MORE
Don Martin: Forsyth steps up when its children face crisis
WINSTON-SALEM (November 16, 2025) – Last spring, we learned of vast overspending by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. The total amount of overspending was unknown. The school district’s finance officer and superintendent retired abruptly, and Dr. Catty Moore was hired as the interim superintendent. At the Oct. 30 School Board meeting, the school district’s auditor,… READ MORE
A pay cut for teachers
RALEIGH (November 13, 2025) – Teacher pay remains an essential issue in North Carolina – an issue ultimately for our most precious resource: Our children. And it’s not going away. Despite its rapid growth, our state ranks an embarrassing 43rd in average K-12 teacher pay.1 It has seen ghastly attrition among its teacher workforce for… READ MORE
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