Saving North Carolina’s Public Education System
How to Stop Those Who Would Betray the State’s Children and Future
As part of its work on public education in America, Civic Way is taking a closer look at one state—North Carolina. This is the second essay in Civic Way’s series on North Carolina’s primary and secondary education system (see the last essay). The author, Bob Melville, is the founder of Civic Way, a nonprofit dedicated to good government, and a management consultant with over 45 years of experience improving public agencies.
Education is our future -- it’s everything. We must not settle for anything short of excellence in our schools. – Jim Hunt (former four-term governor of North Carolina)
Introduction
North Carolina has had many blessings. Its natural resources. Its climate. Its people. And its political leaders—Republican and Democratic—who had the foresight and courage to support quality public education for all.
For decades, the state made educational progress. Its leaders overcame their differences and worked together, for the state’s children and future. They fought a common enemy—ignorance—with common purpose. Across party lines, they forged a common vision—a robust, accountable public education system for all.
And it became one of America’s most desirable and populous states.
Sadly, North Carolina’s bipartisan commitment to public education has split asunder. One vision calls for fully—and fairly—funded public schools, quality public school options, fairly compensated educators and rigorous oversight. The other abides underfunded public schools, subsidized private schools, a growing equity gap, erratic learning conditions and the flagrant evasion of accountability.
There is simply not enough money to fund two competing visions—both will likely fail.
North Carolina’s Growth
North Carolina’s growth has been impressive. From 2000 to 2022, the state’s population increased by nearly a third to about 10.7 million. Today, it is the nation’s ninth-largest state with a dynamic, diverse economy, a remarkable achievement given its economic backwater status over a century ago.
North Carolina’s growth was no accident. Its leaders made astute investments in innovation and education. The Research Triangle Park, Charlotte’s banking center and capital access. Elementary, secondary and higher education. An educated workforce. A modern infrastructure.
North Carolina’s economic development program has attracted the likes of Apple, Bosch, Google, Meta, Toyota, VinFast and Wolfspeed. This year, CNBC ranked the state the “top state for business in 2022” and lauded North Carolina’s educated workforce and its ability to put “partisanship aside.”
The unraveling of the state’s long-standing bipartisan commitment to education—and the North Carolina General Assembly’s myopic, uncompromising approach to governance—will likely change everything, including the state’s top-ranked business climate.
An Overview of North Carolina’s Public Education System
From 1861 to 2022, North Carolina’s public school system grew from 160,000 to 1,550,000 pupils and its private school network grew from 15,000 to 115,000 pupils[i]. Until about ten years ago, the state did not fund private schools. While the data varies by year (and source), the table below summarizes the number of schools and students by type of school for the 2022-23 school year.
Due to several factors, the ratios of children attending public charter, private and home schools have increased. From 2007-08 to 2022-23, the ratio of school-aged children attending traditional public schools declined from 87 to 76 percent. During the same period, charter school attendance rate rose from two to eight percent, nearly offsetting the drop in traditional public-school attendance.
At the same time, the private school enrollment rate rose from six to nearly eight percent[ii]. In turn, the percent of home-schooled school-aged children, due to such factors as the pandemic and favorable state regulations[iii], nearly doubled from about four to eight percent. While homeschool enrollment has abated since its 2020-21 (early pandemic) peak, it remains above pre-pandemic levels[iv].
In 2014, the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) enacted the Opportunity Scholarship (OS) program, its signature school choice initiative. Initially, it limited OS eligibility to low-income families and public-school attendees. It invited nonpublic, unaccredited schools to participate[v]. In the first year, the state spent $133 million to help 25,000 children attend private schools (about $5,300 per student).
After the first year, the NCGA started incrementally expanding the OS program. It increased the voucher amount and funded a $500,000 marketing program[vi]. This year, the NCGA, without credible evidence of the program’s efficacy, decided to dramatically expand it. It broadened eligibility and raised the annual appropriation to $520 million over a ten-year period.
The state also has two statewide childcare and early childhood education programs—NC Pre-K and Smart Start. NC Pre-K (initially More at Four), a pre-kindergarten program for at-risk four-year-olds, funds about 2,100 classrooms. Smart Start, a public-private partnership serving 100 counties by 1997, offers coordinated childcare and early education services for children up to the age of five. Both were designed to improve child readiness for public school.
The next essay will summarize North Carolina’s public education governance structure, financing system and its academic performance and outcomes. Subsequent essays in the series will address the threats facing the state’s public education system and some strategies for overcoming those threats.