A $100M boost to school budgets

Recently, the state of North Carolina received an encouraging report from our Department of Public Instruction. Across the state, public school enrollment is up from what was previously projected. While the numbers are still being tabulated, it is estimated that our state school system will need another $100 million to operate this fiscal year.

As of 2023, the average cost of per-pupil spending in North Carolina was about $11,000. The cost per student may rise based on several other factors. However, it will never go below $11,000. Some student situations involving children with exceptional needs will increase the per-pupil cost to about $20,000. If we take a middle-of-the-road average of $15,000, then it is logical to assume that public school enrollment increased by 6,500 students statewide.

Again, I need to emphasize that we are awaiting final numbers, but one thing is certain: enrollment is up so much that we had to increase funding by about $100 million. This is encouraging and a testament to the bright future of our public education systems. I say this especially considering the fear that the Opportunity Scholarships would tank public school enrollment. Clearly this is not the case.

I hold the conviction that a robust market of educational choices will help all involved. That is the case as we see public school enrollment, home school enrollment and private school enrollment on the rise. Soon, more charter schools will be approved. Lastly, there will be Education Savings Accounts totaling $25 million for children with disabilities.

Therefore, the state legislature will meet on the week of Sept. 9 to approve a budgetary increase to fully fund our public schools. In addition to our K-12 systems receiving a huge financial boost, our community colleges will also receive $64 million for their enrollment increases. Lastly, the Opportunity Scholarship program will be fully funded to clear out the system’s waiting list.

Another critical priority to North Carolina is our Medicaid system. The public health and mental health of our state is paramount, along with our economic and educational opportunities. In the upcoming education omnibus bill, Medicaid will receive about $463 million for rebase funding.

Lastly, our community has had a housing problem of sorts. One of the top complaints I receive from constituents is the lack of availability of subsidized housing. In the upcoming omnibus bill, we will be appropriating time-sensitive federal funding to statewide housing programs.

The state of North Carolina is doing well financially. We are still operating in a surplus of several billion dollars and have several billion saved in separate accounts for use in emergencies. In the coming 2025-26 fiscal year, there will be several hundred million dollars in grant money awarded to individual counties. I have no reason to believe that Wilson will not be receiving funding. On the contrary, I suspect we will see grant funding comparable to what we saw in the last budget.

If you know of a nonprofit that is making an impact in Wilson and could use a boost from the state, please email me at Ken.Fontenot@ncleg.gov . I have heard from several of our county residents and am collecting a log of grant requests. Fortunately, I believe most or all of those who sent grant requests last cycle received at least a part of their requests. Many of the grants were fully funded.

Ken Fontenot represents Wilson County and Nash County’s Sharpsburg precinct in the N.C. House. Contact him at 919-733-5898 or Ken.Fontenot@ncleg.gov .

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