Governor Josh Stein’s first state budget proposal falls short of meeting all of the needs of students in North Carolina’s public education system. While he did address a number of the issues he campaigned on, this is the first proposal in eight years that does not include fully funding the Leandro Plan. This is disappointing. Education Justice Alliance’s (EJA) Co-Executive Directors Letha Muhammad and Jenice Ramirez-Garvin issued this statement:

For a year, if not longer, Governor Josh Stein’s campaign highlighted how he plans to bring about real change to the state’s public education system. The governor’s proposal does have glimmers of progress, such as pay raises for teachers, an end to the “vouchers for all” agenda, free breakfast for all students, and additional funding for summer learning programs, nurses, counselors and social workers. However, it falls short of hitting the mark to deliver the changes our public schools deserve. At a time when public schools are under attack, on both the federal and local levels, it is imperative that we send a strong message of support for our students, parents, teachers, and communities. Governor Stein’s budget proposal only includes a fraction of the funding needed to make sure all of North Carolina’s students receive the, “sound basic education,” that the state constitution outlines as a right of every child.

The Governor’s budget proposal also requests additional funding for school resource officers (SRO). EJA has been explicitly clear about the negative and life-altering effects of having officers in schools, especially when it comes to our Black and brown students. Data shows states in the South only makeup 39% of the country’s school population, but account for nearly 54% of school policing assaults against students. North Carolina has the third highest number of policing assaults from the 2011-12 school year to the 2023-24 school year. This is disheartening because the harm to these students was avoidable. 

When it comes to the safety and care of our youth, there is no room for even the appearance of passivity, whether strategic or unintentional. We cannot afford it. Over the past several months, political rhetoric and decisions are aggressively moving towards a time when systemic inequities were blatant, yet tolerated. When leaders who say they care about public education only partially invest in necessary changes, it has a gaslighting effect. 

Governor Stein, what message does your proposal send to North Carolina’s public school students? If your attempt was one of full support, you have only partially hit the mark. EJA urges you to work with us to revise your proposal to include fully funding Leandro and call for the replacement of all school resource officers with school support staff, such as school psychologists, mental health therapists, school counselors, and nurses.