The State Board of Education voted to approve its joint 2025 legislative agenda with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI) last Thursday, calling among other things for higher teacher pay, additional aid for schools in western North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene, and for a moratorium on the expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship program.

The State Board of Education first discussed possible legislative priorities at its January meeting, discussing the need for policies to support teacher retention, school calendar flexibility, student health, and a new pay structure for principals.

Last week, DPI’s Geoff Coltrane, senior director of government affairs and strategy, said that Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green supported those legislative items, but also had suggested additions.

“I’m a firm believer in this — ask not and receive not,” said Board member Wendell Hall, co-chair of the government and community affairs committee. “I have no problem in asking for the sun if I end up with the moon. That’s fine with me. But still, we need to ask on behalf of these children.”

Green’s “overall priorities to strengthen our public schools” include $100 million for school facilities needs in western North Carolina, raising educator pay and restoring master’s pay for all educators, reforming the principal pay plan, and helping address the nearly $13 billion in school construction needs, Coltrane said.

The joint legislative request includes four bucket of budgetary requests: student and school support, academic support and coaching, technology, and compensation pathways.

The Board also approved non-budgetary requests, included in the slides below.

In addition to approving the joint items proposed by Green, the Board also made three motions for other changes.

First, the Board voted to remove the last bullet point from its non-budget legislative slides, calling for “charter schools to establish an account with the State Treasurer and… to use those accounts for cash management of funds administered by DPI.”

During the meeting, state Treasurer Brad Briner voiced concerns about the logistics of carrying out such a request. The Board agreed to remove that priority for now and to possibly revisit it once logistics are sorted out.

Second, the Board voted to approve a motion made by member Catty Moore to add language calling for a moratorium on private school vouchers to its cover letter for the legislative agenda. The motion passed 9-2, with members Briner and Olivia Oxendine voting against the language.

Add language requesting that a moratorium be placed on the expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship program and offer no new awards to students beginning in the ’25-26 fiscal year, and redirect the funding appropriated for new Opportunities Scholarships for the ’25-26 and the ’26-27 fiscal years to addressing the needs in our public schools. Future funding increases for the Opportunity Scholarship program should be limited to the annual percentage increase in funding for the state public school fund.

Motion approved 9-2 by the Board

Finally, the Board also voted to add a request for funds for high-impact tutoring to its agenda.

“Tutoring helps those children and most needs, and let us not forget that,” Hall said.

The item will be brought back to the Board in March, to vote on the specific funding request. At that point, the Board will send that specific request to the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM).

Now, here’s a closer look at the four buckets of funding the Board and DPI are asking lawmakers for.

Student and school support

The first bucket concerns supports for students and schools, and the largest requests are for free school meals to students and the implementation of a weighted funding formula for Exceptional Children (EC).

The 2023 budget directed DPI to study and create a weighted model for EC students. The model should fund children “on the basis of the reported cost of services provided.” The budget required DPI to report back to lawmakers by Jan. 15, 2024 with such a model, along with a comparison to funds under the existing model.

According to DPI, a weighted model would “generate varied funding based on the weights applied to the service level categories rather than a fixed level per student.” It would also “generate funding and a distribution of that funding to more closely align with the students and their service delivery needs.”

“This is a really positive step for our children that so much deserve our attention,” Board vice-chair Alan Duncan said about the model in March 2024.

This bucket also includes an increase of $65 million for the School Health Personnel Allotment.

“This request of $65 million would actually be a 20% increase in funding for that allotment, and would help districts hire another 660 nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists,” Coltrane told the Board.

Here is a look at national recommended ratios for those positions, compared to 2023 data in North Carolina public schools. You can see the largest gap exists for school social workers and psychologists.

Academic support and coaching

The second bucket includes academic support for literacy, math, and beginning teachers.

The largest funding requests are $44 million for a K-8 math screener to help with math instruction, and nearly $40 million to expand literacy professional development and support to middle school students.

In 2021, North Carolina lawmakers updated the Excellent Public Schools Act to emphasize the use of the science of reading to ensure students in elementary schools can read on grade level by grade three.

Since then, state lawmakers have allocated more than $114 million to train NC Pre-K instructors, elementary teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS). 

Last short session, DPI asked lawmakers for funds to expand those efforts to older students.

“Data indicates support is necessary beyond grade three,” a 2024 DPI presentation said. “Not all students learn at the same pace/rate — (this) provides opportunity for educator professional knowledge aligned to science of reading, core instructional practices and continuous intervention supports.”

Last session, DPI also asked for $4.5 million to continue funding efforts to transform schools designated as low performing. The Board and DPI are again asking for that funding this long session to continue the CARES model, launched in 2021 as the “the highest level of intervention within the Department of Public Instruction” for low-performing schools.

The intervention program helps to identify what causes challenges in low-performing schools and to intervene with support to bolster the school’s achievements and performance.

You can read EdNC’s previous reporting on the CARES program here.

Technology

The largest request in the next bucket — technology — is $152.6 million for a one-to-one device refresh.

During the Board’s meeting, DPI said a recent survey showed that 100% of schools reported having a one-to-one computer ratio for their students. That number was 75% for charter and lab schools.

However, only 45% of schools said they have funds to refresh those devices.

“That $152 million ask is the amount that it would take — multiplied by four — to replace all the the devices in the state,” Coltrane said. “So the idea is that over a four year period, districts would be able to refresh their devices.”

This bucket also includes $45 million to modernize school business systems, and $17.5 million for a uniform education reporting system (UERS), which will help schools move from PowerSchool to its new information system, Infinite Campus.

Compensation pathways

Finally, the Board and DPI are requesting $14.1 million for additional Advanced Teaching Roles (ATR) salary supplements and $2 million to expand ATR grants.

The legislative agenda does not include a specific request for teacher and staff raises, but does ask to “invest in raising teacher and educator pay so that North Carolina has the highest teacher salaries in the Southeast.”

According to DPI’s presentation, the highest average teaching salary in the Southeast is in Georgia, at $64,461. In comparison, the average salary in North Carolina is $56,559. The highest average starting pay in the Southeast is in Florida, at $47,178. In North Carolina, it is $40,136.

The Board and DPI are also asking for the restoration of master’s pay for all teachers, which is a 10% salary supplement.

You can view the full presentation on DPI and the Board’s joint legislative priorities below.

A look at Superintendent Green’s leadership team

During the meeting, Green also introduced his full leadership cabinet to the Board:

• Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin, deputy superintendent who is helping lead DPI’s transition. She formerly worked at DPI as the director of state board of education operations and policy, among other roles.
• Dr. Derrick Jordan, chief operations officer. Jordan previously served as DPI’s deputy superintendent of educator and student advancement under former State Superintendent Catherine Truitt.
• Dr. Michael Maher, chief accountability officer. Maher previously worked as DPI’s deputy superintendent for standards, accountability, and research.
• Mark Dessauer, chief communications officer.
• Dr. Stacey Wilson-Norman, chief academic officer. Wilson-Norman is currently the chief academic advancement officer for the Wake County Public School System. Since 2022, a DPI press release said “she has led district-wide instructional systems for preK-12 programs, including academics, special education services and student support services, while ensuring alignment with the district’s strategic priorities and equity goals.” She will start at DPI on March 24.
• Alexis Schauss, chief finance officer. She has served in the role since April 2021, and worked at DPI for more than 23 years.
• Vanessa Wrenn, chief information officer. She has worked in the role since August 2021.
• Geoff Coltrane, senior director of government affairs and strategy. Coltrane comes to DPI from the NC Governor’s office, where he served as deputy public policy director and senior education advisor.
• Rupen Fofaria, director of Board operations and policy.
• Allison Schafer, general counsel.

“You’ve built a terrific team,” Chair Eric Davis told Green. “And we’re delighted to partner with you and the terrific leaders you’ve brought on board.”

Green said he is working with his leadership team to finish his strategic plan, which he said he plans to have in place by June 2025.

“Our website is up with regards to our listening and learning (tour), which we call ‘Mo Wants to Know,'” Green said. “And so I would encourage folks, even if you don’t have an opportunity to meet with me directly, please don’t hesitate to put your thoughts in that website so that they can be read and we can see how we might formulate, ultimately, a strategic plan.”

New members in state government announced

On Wednesday, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein also announced additional staff for his team, including Elena Ashburn as senior advisor for education policy.

Elena Ashburn joins the policy team after serving as an area superintendent in the Wake County Public School System, where she led 17,000 students in 23 schools. She began her career in education as a Teach For America teacher and later served as a middle and high school principal. Elena earned a doctorate in educational leadership from UNC Chapel Hill and was named the North Carolina Wells Fargo Principal of the Year in 2021.  

Stein’s press release

Dr. Monique Perry-Graves, executive director of Teach For America (TFA) North Carolina, celebrated Ashburn’s appointment.

“Dr. Ashburn’s track record and contributions as an award-winning principal and district administrator speaks for itself,” she said. “As a TFA alum and former advisory board member, she will bring her on the ground experience and expertise as a leader and a parent to this role. Her voice and counsel to our governor is a benefit to all students statewide.”

The North Carolina Principal of the Year (POY) network said Ashburn’s selection as education advisor is “a monumental win for North Carolina’s public schools.”

“Throughout her distinguished career in Wake County Schools, she has exemplified visionary leadership, an unyielding commitment to student success, and a relentless dedication to advancing public education,” the network said. “As a former NC Principal of the Year and trusted advisor to the State Board of Education, she has been a steadfast champion for public education, advocating for policies that drive meaningful change and elevate educational excellence.

“With her deep expertise, passion for equity, and unwavering focus on opportunity for all students, Dr. Ashburn will be a powerful force in shaping the future of public education in North Carolina.”  

You can see the full list of new members on Stein’s staff on his website.