NC Democrats say ‘soul of public education’ is on 2024 ballot. What are their plans?

N.C. Democrats say “the very soul of public education” is on the ballot in November as they work to break Republicans’ legislative supermajority.

With just less than a month until the election, Democrats aren’t expected to gain a majority in either chamber of the legislature. Republicans have held control of the state House and Senate since 2011 and are favored to win in most legislative districts, according to Dave’s Redistricting, a website that uses past elections to determine how each district might vote this year.

But by breaking up the supermajority created in part by Mecklenburg Rep. Tricia Cotham’s flip to the Republican Party, Democrats hope to bring back the governor’s veto power. And they could prevent more veto overrides on topics such as school vouchers, sports and hot-button social issues in schools.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has focused on 14 “spotlight races,” including three Charlotte-area House seats: Districts 98, 73 and 105. Each of the candidates running on the Democratic ticket in those races has said education as a top priority for her campaign.

“I think it’s imperative that we’re able to break the supermajority,” said Nicole Sidman, the Democrat running to unseat Cotham in N.C. House District 105. “When there’s not a supermajority, you have more than one voice at the table. The governor was elected by the people of North Carolina, so if his checks and balances don’t matter, the will of the voters doesn’t either.”

So, what would Democrats do if they get more seats in the legislature? Local candidates say they’re most focused on increasing funding for public schools, including substantial teacher pay raises, as opposed to increasing funding for school vouchers.

School vouchers

Democrats and Republicans frequently clash over funding for Opportunity Scholarships, the state’s school voucher program, with Gov. Roy Cooper in September vetoing a bill with $463 million in additional funding for school vouchers. In 2023, the legislature expanded eligibility to families of all income levels, leading to around 70,000 new applications — an over 100% increase from the prior year — and a waitlist with tens of thousands of students.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate say increasing funding for Opportunity Scholarships gives N.C. parents a greater say in their child’s education. Cotham has been a leading voice for voucher expansion, saying universal school choice is a means of empowerment for students and families.

“Parental empowerment is the definition of transparency and accountability,” she wrote in a May op-ed for National Review, a conservative editorial magazine. “Indeed, as money follows students, state lawmakers and scholars will see which educational approaches succeed in real time . And parents will respond accordingly.”

She argued parents will keep their children’s schools accountable, rather than the state regulations that apply to public schools.

Sidman, on the other hand, believes vouchers are giving more benefit to wealthy families than low-income ones, while worsening problems in public schools. Less than 20% of Opportunity Scholarship applicants for the 2024-25 school year had a household income of $60,000 a year or less for a family of four, according to the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority. Around 55% of applicants had a household income of $115,440 or more, and 18% had a household income of $260,000 or more.

“W e’ve seen very clearly that Republicans want our money to go to private schools, but w hat solution do Republicans have for teacher shortages? Even if they want to send every kid to private school, there aren’t enough seats,” Sidman said. “If it’s not a solution that works for everyone, then it’s not a solution.”

School funding and teacher pay

Instead of vouchers, Democrats say the most pressing issue in NC education today is teacher pay and public school funding. They argue increased public funding for school vouchers without corresponding investments in public schools contributes to the statewide teacher shortage.

Under current law, public school funding this year could decrease by $22 million, according to an analysis from the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management. If the General Assembly overrides the veto and approves the additional $463 million in Opportunity Scholarship funding, the analysis anticipates an additional $76 million decrease. In total, the state budget has about $18 billion allocated for education during the 2024-25 fiscal year. That includes K-12 education, higher education and funding for Opportunity Scholarships.

“Insufficient funding, I would say, is the number one challenge facing our public schools,” said Beth Helfrich, an educator and Democrat running in N.C. House District 98 in northern Mecklenburg County. “We will continue to lose excellent teachers if we do not pay them the salaries that they deserve.”

Helfrich said many educators choose to work in nearby states like South Carolina or Virginia, which have higher average teacher salaries, rather than stay in North Carolina. For example, starting teachers make a minimum of $50,000 this year in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Starting teachers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools make approximately $48,600, only $41,000 of which is provided by the state.

Deanna Townsend-Smith is the executive director of the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity and former director of board policy and operations for the NC board of education. She says one of the biggest issues in the state is educator pay.

“Unless you’re willing to pay teachers as professionals, you’re going to continue to see problems,” Townsend-Smith told The Charlotte Observer.

Some Republicans in the House, including Speaker Tim Moore and House Rules Committee Chair Destin Hall, who’s likely to be the next speaker, have voiced support for teacher pay raises. However, they haven’t been met with the same support from Republicans in the Senate. Meanwhile, Democrats, including Cooper, have called for bigger educator raises across the board, with average teacher pay increases of 8.5% in addition to retention bonuses.

North Carolina ranks 41st in the nation for teacher pay, down from 38th in 2023, according to the National Education Association. Starting teacher salaries in North Carolina average just over $40,000, bringing the state to 42nd or starting teacher pay.

Per-pupil funding in North Carolina sat at around $11,000 in 2021, around $5,000 below the national average, according to the latest report from the Education Law Center. It was also lower than neighboring states.

Democrats are taking aim at Republicans for North Carolina’s continuing to slip in national rankings for teacher pay under Republican control of both chambers. This year, with an average pay increase of 3%, N.C. educators’ salaries increased at a rate below inflation – effectively, a pay cut.

“I think it’s telling, because with that amount of power, you can really see what the priorities are for the GOP right now,” said Helfrich. “Instead of increasing funding to our public schools, they’re pulling funding and redirecting it.”

State Senate Leader Sen. Phil Berger did not respond to requests for comment on Republican education policy priorities in the Senate.

Non-legislative races

Democrat Maurice “Mo” Green, former superintendent of Guilford County Schools, is running against Republican Michele Morrow, a longtime critic of public schools, for N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction. Their approaches couldn’t be more different.

“I was deeply concerned about the direction of our public schools in North Carolina and funding. I believe our schools are woefully underfunded,” Green said. “The very soul of public education is on the ballot this November.”

While Green says increasing school funding will be key to improving schools, Morrow doesn’t see it that way. She’s previously called public schools “the indoctrination army of the socialist Dems” and said investing more money into the system would be like “throwing money onto the dumpster fire” when what is needed is a “bottom-up solution.”

Morrow supports the legislature’s expansion of school vouchers, saying competition will drive public schools to be better while allowing parents more choice.

“It is absolutely necessary that we have healthy competition in the free market system, competition that creates the best product at the best price,” she said in an online debate hosted by Best NC in September. “Our public school systems should be raising the bar so that we can keep everybody in our schools and we can make people want to be there.”

Green argues the increase to public funding for private schools without additional funding for the public school system is setting public schools up to fail. He also sees it as his mission to restore waning faith in the public school system and educators themselves.

Townsend-Smith stressed that races up and down the ballot will have an impact on education policy moving forward. Yes, the Superintendent of Public Instruction has a clear influence on education, but decisions about funding are made by the legislature while the governor appoints members to the state board of education.

“Voting matters,” she said. “Understand who you’re voting for and connect with organizations that can help keep you informed about what is on the ballot.”

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