Lessons Learned: Why don’t we invest in our children?
RALEIGH (August 14, 2025) – As students head back to the classroom, we’re diving deeper into the struggles educators are dealing with in our state.
Over the next several weeks, we will publish a series of articles to address how legislative actions – and inaction – in North Carolina over the past few decades have contributed to harm in our public schools.
Lessons Learned: NC teacher pay falls to bottom of rankings
RALEIGH (August 20, 2025) – It’s no secret that pay is a concern for North Carolina teachers – the latest report from the National Education Association ranks the state 43rd in the U.S. for average teacher salaries.
It hasn’t always been this way. Based on a table from the American Federation of Teachers, 25 years ago the average teacher salary in 1999-2000 in North Carolina was $39,404, which ranked 22nd in the nation.
Lessons learned: Voucher expansion and public schools
RALEIGH (August 28, 2025) – North Carolina has seen a vast expansion of vouchers – taxpayer dollars for students to attend private schools – called “Opportunity Scholarships.”
The state is projected to spend $731 million on its voucher programs this year, according to the NC General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division.
Heather Koons, Communications and Research Director with Public Schools First NC, said all of this is happening while public schools suffer.
Lessons Learned: Spending per student among lowest in nation
RALEIGH (September 4, 2025) – Lack of funding is the root of many issues facing North Carolina public schools today, as legislators have failed to allocate enough funds to keep up with surrounding states, setting our state behind.
GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is the value of goods and services produced in a state. In 2024, North Carolina dedicated just 2.4 percent of its GDP to spending on public schools, putting our funding effort below every state except for Arizona.
We ranked 49th.
Lessons Learned: NC leaves young learners behind
RALEIGH (September 10, 2025) – Legislators’ refusal to properly fund education even affects our youngest learners in North Carolina.
Research shows pre-kindergarten can be a crucial stage to a child’s development. North Carolina has a high-quality Pre-K program, but the state isn’t serving all the kids it can.
Last year, NC Pre-K enrolled 27,928 children, only 57% of about 49,000 four-year-olds from lower-income families who were eligible.