Unbelievable! Embarrassing!

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. 2 nationally as the best climate for business. What is wrong? Do our state legislators not care? Or do we not care as the voting public?

Please read the following disgusting facts: 

Inadequate School Funding

•Research shows that school funding (both the amount and how it is spent) has a significant impact on student outcomes – including test scores and graduation rates. This relationship is especially strong for low-income students.¹

•North Carolina ranks 48th in the country in per-student spending, falling nearly $5,000 below the national average, and 49th in funding effort, or the amount of spending on public education as a percentage of the state’s economy (GDP).²

Teacher Pay

•Low compensation is consistently cited as the top reason educators are considering leaving their jobs. And incentives previously provided to encourage candidates to enter and remain in the teaching profession (e.g. longevity pay, master’s pay, retiree health benefits) have largely been eliminated.

•North Carolina ranks 39th in the nation for starting teacher pay (about $42,500 on average) and 43rd in the nation for average teacher pay ($58,300 on average).

•Average teacher pay in North Carolina fell more than $13,700 below the national average salary of $72,030³ and below the minimum living wage for one adult and one child ($58,411).⁴

North Carolina educators earn 25% less than comparable college graduates.

Educator Working Conditions

•Teachers are the No. 1 school-related factor in student outcomes.⁵

•Teachers are experiencing significant burnout due to increasing workloads and class sizes, challenging working conditions, and lack of adequate support staff.

•Attrition for North Carolina teachers was nearly 10% and the vacancy rate was 7.6% in the 2023-24 school year.⁶

•The burnout rate for K-12 educators outpaces all other professions nationally.

•North Carolina has the 4th-highest out-of-pocket spending by teachers on classroom supplies.

Taxpayer-Funded Private School Voucher Expansion and Exclusion

•In 2023, the NC General Assembly expanded the Opportunity Scholarship program (taxpayer-funded vouchers for students to attend private schools) to include eligibility for all families with no income cap. Legislators also removed the requirement of having previously attended public schools.

•In 2024-25, 42% of Opportunity Scholarship recipients statewide were in the two highest income tiers, coming from families making $110,000 or more annually for a family of four.⁷ Expansion of the program has primarily benefited students who were already enrolled in private schools⁸ and those living in urban counties.⁹

•Of the top 200 schools receiving vouchers, 89% discriminate in the admission process in some way (e.g. based on religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, family values, academics).¹⁰

Access to State-Funded Pre-K

•Only 57% of eligible 4-year-olds are enrolled in state-funded NC Pre-K.¹¹

Student Test Scores

•In 2024, 37% of 3rd-8th graders in North Carolina earned a college and career ready score on the end-of-grade math exam.¹²

•In 2024, 31% of 3rd-8th graders in North Carolina earned a college and career ready score on the end-of-grade reading exam.¹³

•Significant academic achievement gaps persist across racial and socioeconomic demographics.

If you are as disappointed as I am, call your legislators, particularly your state senator.

The House’s version of the state budget this year looks very good and supportive of our public schools, especially our teachers.¹⁴ That’s thanks in large part to Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth. But House members need support in their negotiations with the Senate.

Please – we can do better.

Paul Fulton is a former President of Sara Lee Corp., former Dean of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, former Trustee at UNC-Chapel Hill, former member of the UNC Board of Governors, and the founder and Chair of Public Ed Works.

We are grateful to our colleagues at the Public School Forum of North Carolina for accumulating much of this data.

1 https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/how-money-matters-factsheet.
2 https://edlawcenter.org/research/making-the-grade-2024/.
3  https://publicedworks.org/2025/05/nc-teacher-pay-now-ranks-43rd/.
4 https://publicedworks.org/2025/05/nc-teacher-pay-now-ranks-43rd/.
5 https://www.rand.org/education-and-labor/projects/measuring-teacher-effectiveness/teachers-matter.html.
6 https://www.wral.com/story/nc-teacher-turnover-hits-highest-mark-in-decades-new-report-shows-changes-in-who-is-leading-classrooms/21361469/; https://www.ednc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/state-of-teaching-profession-report-released-april-2025.pdf.
7 https://www.ncforum.org/vouchers/.
8 https://publicedworks.org/2025/06/public-schools-first-most-vouchers-going-to-students-already-in-private-school/.
9 https://publicedworks.org/2025/02/myth-vouchers-wont-hurt-traditional-schools-or-rural-nc-counties/.
10 https://www.ncforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Opportunity-Scholarships-and-the-Schools-that-Receive-Them.pdf; https://publicedworks.org/2025/01/opportunity-scholarships-discrimination-and-neglect-of-special-needs-children/.
11 https://dashboard.myfuturenc.org/academic-readiness/nc-pre-k-enrollment/.
12 https://dashboard.myfuturenc.org/academic-readiness/college-and-career-ready-in-math/.
13 https://dashboard.myfuturenc.org/academic-readiness/college-and-career-ready-in-reading/.
14 https://publicedworks.org/2025/06/house-takes-the-lead-on-teacher-pay/;  https://publicedworks.org/2025/05/house-budget-shows-promise-for-teacher-pay/.