When Education Meets Ignorance

There was an article in the July 21, 2025, NC Newsline that caught my eye, and I’ve returned to it while considering this month’s news regarding the state of North Carolina.

It’s about something I’ve been scratching my own head over, and I appreciate author Paul Fulton’s take on the subject as outlined in the title: “North Carolina’s Unbelievable and Embarrassing Disinvestment in Public Education.”

Wait! Don’t stop reading yet. I know there are so many more headlines screaming at the citizens of this state and country right now, and that you might find “disinvestment in public education” less than earth shattering—given the national news of late.

But I see an important connection, and I’d like to try to persuade you that it’s a serious one.

Fulton lays it out in front of your face, right in the first two sentences:

It is unbelievable and embarrassing that our public schools (PreK-12) are where they are today, ranking 48th in the nation in per-student funding and 49th in funding effort. This while our state is booming economically and ranked No. 1 nationally as the best climate for business.

The article goes on to note that our state is 48th in the USA in per-student spending, which is nearly $5,000 below the national average, and—get this!—49th in “funding effort” (the amount spent on public education as a percentage of the state’s economy).

Not so good, is it?

So I went rummaging.

The Evidence Isn’t Pretty

There is pretty chilling evidence all around that brings the North Carolina General Assembly’s attitude towards public education into sharper focus. Not that the conclusions are necessarily new—but that evidence is necessarily powerful.

Operating from a memory from my early adulthood, when “education” was a true standard in North Carolina government, I focused with some angst upon a recent report from the Education Law Center: “2024 Making the Grade.”

It wasn’t pretty to see my home state listed next to last for “Funding Effort” (PK-12 education revenue as a percentage of state wealth). The highest ranking on that chart went to Vermont (funding level of 5.50%, or $25,627, with GDP per capita of $53,483). North Carolina sits next to the bottom on that most recent (2022) chart, at 2.08%, or $11,560 with a GDP per capita of $56,943—higher than the number one state.

This state’s statistics for “Making the Grade” in 2024 show North Carolina with a 16% poverty rate for school-aged children, as well as these educational “grades”:

Funding Level:                       F

Funding Distribution:         B

Funding Effort:                      F

Our state falls below average in funding and below average in effort, it but did pick up a ranking of “slightly progressive distribution of funds.”

And How About Vouchers?

If you (bless your heart!) read this column fairly regularly, you’ll know that it reports regularly on this state’s voucher system and its effects. It is therefore noted with particular interest that the “Making the Grade” report notes the following about what is called “an urgent threat to public education.” (See—I didn’t make that up!)

From the first universal voucher program in the country—Arizona in 2022—the report’s take is that the “unfettered growth of the program, paired with a dire lack of accountability, has been an unmitigated disaster for that state. And yet two years later, universal or near-universal voucher programs moved into 11 more states—including North Carolina.

Voucher expansions are happening in the states that can least afford them. Of the 36 grades given to the 12 universal voucher states for Funding Level, Distribution, and Effort, nearly half were D’s and F’s. All but one state (Ohio) had funding levels in 2022 that were below the national average, and seven … received an F.

The moral of this story, or report, becomes:

Rather than diverting funds to unaccountable voucher programs that do not improve student outcomes, public dollars should be invested in strengthening the nation’s underfunded public education system.

And While We’re in School . . .

I’m sorry that I don’t know just how many of our legislators have ever supervised a public school classroom. If I did, I would provide you with that statistic in the wake of the newest interference devised by a majority of this current General Assembly.

Its legislative moniker is House Bill 805 (now Session Law 2025-84), and it calls itself an act to:

• officially recognize two sexes in in all administrative rules, regulations, or public policies adopted by the state of North Carolina
• prevent the sexual exploitation of women and minors
• limit the use of state funding
• modify the law related to civil remedies for gender transition procedures on non-minors
• allow students with religious objections to be excused from certain classroom discussions or activities
• allow parent access to library books
• provide for restrictions on school sleeping

If you look at this new law, there is a glaring discrepancy under its “Short title; definitions.” Calling Article 51A the “Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors,” first and foremost, offers a large exclusion, you guys. See if you can figure it out.

But back to that public school classroom comment. This new law puts strong effort into making sure parents have access to “library books”—meaning electronic, print, and nonprint resources (excluding textbooks) for independent use by students and school personnel “outside of the standard course of study for any grade or course.” That gives local boards of education the right to adopt policies to:

• Provide a searchable web-based catalog to the titles of any library books at each school through a searchable web-based catalog
• Allow a parent or guardian to identify any library books that may not be borrowed by the student

One of the headaches of this new law is that “school library books” includes books maintained inside a classroom and made available by teachers. But, hey. They—those underpaid, underappreciated teachers—don’t have anything else to do.