RALEIGH (March 11, 2026) – News Item: Over the past two years, North Carolinians have spent $13 billion betting on sports.1 Yet North Carolinians can’t come up with $1.5 billion to pay our public-school teachers properly. We rank 43rd among the states in average teacher pay, 39th in starting teacher pay,2 and 50th – 50th, as… READ MORE
NC is losing too many teachers!
By Public Schools First NC RALEIGH (March 7, 2026) – On March 4, NCDPI presented to the State Board of Education findings from the annual State of the Teaching and School Administration Professions in North Carolina. Data show that teachers are leaving the classroom at a rate of 10.11% (up slightly from last year’s 9.88%),… READ MORE
Former Iredell teacher urges legislators to invest in kids
By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works STATESVILLE (February 26, 2026) – Former Iredell County teacher Jennifer Hodges sounds the alarm on growing classroom challenges across North Carolina. “Legislators need to give schools more money, basically,” Hodges said. “That’s it.” Hodges was a teacher for 25 years and retired in August 2024. She taught mostly… READ MORE
General Assembly owes UNC System $158M
RALEIGH (February 26, 2026) – At a time when many universities across the country are shrinking, the University of North Carolina System is growing – it saw enrollment increase by 1.6% in 2024 and 3.7% last fall, to 256,530 students.1 Yet North Carolina’s General Assembly isn’t doing its part to support those students, to the… READ MORE
Roy Williams: ‘Let’s pay our teachers’
CHAPEL HILL (February 18, 2026) – Other than his mother, Coach Roy Williams says his biggest heroes are his teachers.1 “I’m very proud of North Carolina and want our state to be the best it can be,” Williams says in the accompanying video. “We need to aim higher. And I’m not talking about basketball. We… READ MORE
Bladen superintendent: ‘Do the right thing’ for kids
By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works ELIZABETHTOWN (February 13, 2025) – Bladen County is one of 78 rural counties in North Carolina suffering the consequences of state underfunding in public schools. Bladen County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jason Atkinson grew up in the county that’s located between Fayetteville and Wilmington and came back in 2021 to… READ MORE
Is the NC Senate letting our state down?
By Doug Shackelford and Paul Fulton Public Ed Works RALEIGH (February 12, 2026) – It’s been nine months since the North Carolina House passed a bipartisan budget that would finally give our schoolchildren the support they need and the teachers the pay they deserve. The House plan would raise starting teacher salaries to $50,000 next… READ MORE
Bilas on teacher pay: ‘That’s how North Carolina wins’
CHARLOTTE (February 5, 2026) – ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas doesn’t hesitate to share opinions. And he has thoughts about how North Carolina treats its public school teachers. In the accompanying video, Bilas recounts how he and his wife raised their children here and sent them to North Carolina schools, living in Charlotte for the… READ MORE
UNC should not close its Global Studies Centers
By Lloyd Kramer CHAPEL HILL (January 22, 2026) – The recent announcement that UNC-Chapel Hill plans to close its six thriving Global Studies Centers is the wrong response to current financial and political challenges. Although I retired from the History Department’s faculty in 2024, this plan for closing the Centers has provoked my Tar Heel… READ MORE
Education Lottery needs a new name
RALEIGH (January 7, 2026) – We need to either revamp the so-called North Carolina Education Lottery or remove ‘Education’ from its name. It’s a scam – a fraud the state of North Carolina perpetrates on its own citizens. Audit results released last week revealed that just 16% of dollars spent on the so-called “Education” Lottery… READ MORE
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