A State of Emergency for Public Education: In Special Address, Governor Cooper Issues Call to Action to Protect Public Schools | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: In a special address today, Governor Roy Cooper declared that public education in North Carolina is facing a state of emergency. In his address, the Governor outlined extreme legislation in the NC General Assembly that would cripple the state's public education system and urged North Carolinians to contact their legislators.

    "It's clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education. I'm declaring this a state of emergency because you need to know what's happening. If you care about public schools in North Carolina, it's time to take immediate action and tell them to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation," said Governor Cooper.

    In recent weeks, Republicans have pushed a series of sweeping legislation that would choke the life out of public education. These extreme bills would cause public schools to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, exacerbate the state's teacher shortage and bring political culture wars into the classrooms.

    A Devastating School Voucher Scheme

    Legislative Republicans propose pouring billions of dollars in taxpayer money into private schools that are unaccountable to the public and can decide which students they want to admit. Their plan would expand private school vouchers so anyone - even a millionaire - can get taxpayer money for their children's private school tuition.

    By expanding voucher eligibility to any K-12 student, our public schools, especially schools in rural and poorer counties, will face steep funding cuts, leaving schools without the resources to maintain fixed costs and support students.

    A Worsening Teacher Shortage

    North Carolina schools currently have more than 5,000 teacher vacancies. Recruiting and retaining quality teachers to the classroom is harder than ever and low pay is a big reason why. Governor Cooper's budget proposed an 18% pay raise over two years. But last week Senate Republicans proposed increasing veteran teachers' salaries by just $250 spread over two years. This will cause North Carolina to continue to fall behind, pushing teachers out of our classrooms and leaving public school students without instruction. In addition, legislators are proposing an acceleration of tax cuts that are projected to cut North Carolina's state budget by almost 20 percent -hamstringing the ability to fund public education now and in the future.

    Injecting Culture Wars into the Classroom

    Republican leaders want to inject their political culture wars into classrooms across North Carolina with bills that would put politicians in charge of curriculum setting, micromanage what teachers can teach, and target LGBTQ+ students. Already, prominent Republicans have proposed eliminating core science classes and are pushing to rewrite history curriculums to fit a political agenda. Students need an education that prepares them for the workforce and success. North Carolina's families, businesses and economy depend on it. Putting politicians in charge of the classroom is dangerous.

    This week, Governor Cooper will travel across the state to meet with business leaders, educators and parents to raise awareness about the dangers of the bills in the NC General Assembly and ask them to demand better and join the fight to protect public education in North Carolina.


    Contact: Sam Chan

    Phone: (919) 814-2100  •      Email: govpress@nc.gov