Education has become a contentious topic this election season in North Carolina, with current Gov. Roy Cooper naming 2024 the year of public schools as Republican legislators funnel more taxpayer money into private schools through the Opportunity Scholarship.
The governor plays an important role in the future of education in North Carolina holding the power to sign into law or veto education-related funding and legislation and appoint members of the State Board of Education.
The state has a history of controversial education bills like HB 2, the bathroom bill, which was signed into law by then-Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and later softened through further legislation.
A big concern in the education sector this year is the tug-of-war between funding public schools, including raising teacher pay, and supporting private school vouchers. In 2022-23, North Carolina was ranked 38th in average teacher salary by the National Education Association, which mainly Democrats point to when calling for more public school funding.
Here’s a look at how the gubernatorial candidates might approach education if elected to the highest office in the state.
Mark Robinson, Republican
Mark Robinson says he supports public schools and raising teacher pay while simultaneously saying some schools are indoctrinating students. He wants to make schools more transparent and increase parent-teacher partnerships. He supports school choice, including charter schools and increased Opportunity Scholarship funding.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Robinson called on schools to “get back to the basics” like math and reading and "get politics out of the classroom.”
He has said he believes the solution to improving schools is in giving more power to school staff.
“One of my top priorities here as lieutenant governor, and hopefully in the future, will be to make sure that we remove bureaucracies out of the way at the top, so that the folks on the ground, like you, can make sure that you get things done and that you can have the control that you need to make sure that your schools are successful,” Robinson said via video message at a North Carolina Association of School Administrators conference.
During his time as lieutenant governor, a role that serves as a member on the State Board of Education, he created a task force called F.A.C.T.S. The acronym stands for Fairness and Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students, and the team sought to collect data on indoctrination in schools.
Robinson has also been vocal about his opposition to education about the transgender community in schools.
“Dragging our kids down into the pit of hell, trying to teach em’ that mess in our schools,” Robinson said during church remarks in a video posted by CBS 17. “Tell you like this, that ain’t got no place at no school.” Further going on to say, “You need to get back to teaching em’ how to read instead of teaching em’ how to go to hell.”
Josh Stein, Democrat
Josh Stein’s stance on education reflects the current governor’s stance. Stein, who is endorsed by Cooper, supports fully funding public schools before giving money to private schools.
One of Stein’s main concerns with education is the teacher and staff shortages in public schools, he said in a video message to administrators at a North Carolina Association of School Administrators conference.
“As governor, I will fight to raise teacher pay, to attract and retain more high-quality teachers, and to ensure that we have more well-paid personnel including bus drivers, and school nurses, counselors and social workers,” Stein said.
He also hopes to address mental health concerns in schools and fund healthy meal options for students if elected.
Stein is an advocate for keeping college affordable and increasing access to skills-based and job training focused education, not just four-year degrees.
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