Request froma NC PublicSchool grad

In NC the Supreme Court ruled that the state’s constitution1 guarantees a public education for every child and includes due process which is often lacking in private school options in NC.

In 1993 Robeson County residents had a median income of approximately $21,0002. Respectively, in 2022, residents of Robeson County, NC had a median income of approximately $35,0003. This is the county I grew up in and this county remains one one of NC’s poorest counties. Early in my life I understood the value of education because my family reinforced that I could do anything I set my mind to do and that in order to succeed in life, an education was necessary.

As a graduate of the Public Schools of Robeson County, I experienced a lack of access to rigorous courses, lack of adequate funding for basic school supplies such as textbooks, lack of access to school environments that had adequate resources - both human and monetary - to provide me the opportunity to be prepared post graduation. This lack of opportunity and access was reinforced when a counselor told my mom that we should not consider an institution of higher education “as I would not succeed”. Imagine going through an experience that failed to see your abilities or brilliance, but instead dismissed you because of your zip code.

Every child deserves access to a free public education that is properly resourced. Thankfully, my county was one of 5 counties4 that challenged the uneven access students were provided. Because of the advocacy, in 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that NC was not meeting the “basic” educational needs of students. That was over 30 years ago and still today, NC’s educational system remains starved by a legislature that chooses only to provide adequate resources to a select few. Instead of funding NC’s public schools, a majority in the General Assembly chose to act swiftly during this short legislative session to increase private school funding over $243 million5 after increasing this funding by $526 million during the past long session. Imagine if the same action was taken to fund the 2022 court mandate of $785,106,248 for NC’s public schools. The General Assembly blatantly neglects to uphold their sworn constitutional responsibility and is rendering every NC’s students’ guarantee to a basic education unattainable.

Public education is the very foundation for good citizenship6. While my K - 12 experience was not stellar, there were some in my county who understood its value and advocated for better. Today, as citizens of the state, we have the same responsibility to advocate in support of every child attending NC public schools. Fortunately, through an opportunity to attend North Carolina Central University, with access to experienced professors who cared about me, saw my potential, and guided my development, I have been able to participate and become a productive citizen contributing to the success of NC through a variety of leadership roles. For the past 23 years, I have been and will forever be a proud educator for NC while also championing to create policies and practices that create opportunity and access for every child.

For the last decade, with decisions from the General Assembly to expand and fund choice options, our public schools have not received the resources needed to provide every child with the access needed to appropriately supply basic educational needs. Instead, policies have been created and implemented that deny every child access to the minimally constitutional requirement of a sound basic education. Brown vs. Board of Education8, which remains the law of the land, required that “with all deliberate speed we were to dismantle dual school systems”. In NC, policy has reinstated dual school systems that are inherently unequal and deprives every student the right to thrive and survive.

May 17, 2024, marks the 70th anniversary of the Brown v Board decision. The Brown and Leandro decisions both “only” require the basics. Still today, the basics are being denied for certain students and at what cost?