11/6/2026

Tuesday was Election Day, and education was on the ballot.

Across the country, pundits widely discussed the possibility of a “blue wave.” As of 1:22 a.m. on Wednesday, Democrats officially won control of both chambers of Congress. Tuesday’s election also broke the supermajority Republicans currently hold in the N.C. Senate and the near-supermajority they hold in the N.C. House, gaining Democrats a multiple-seat margin, even as some races remain uncalled. Democrats now hold control of the N.C. House for the first time since 2011.

North Carolina voters also voted to cap the state income tax rate at 3.5% and to require a limit on local property tax increases through ballot measures that will amend the North Carolina state constitution. EdNC has reported that the amendments could have a substantial effect on public school funding; educators and advocates have criticized the amendments, saying they threaten school budgets.

Read more about results in this election’s key races and issues with implications for education.

Every five years, state law requires that local boards of education submit their long-range plans for “meeting school facility needs” to the State Board of Education. The reports are then aggregated by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI) into a statewide summary, which is submitted to the General Assembly to shape their decisions regarding fiscal allocations in the state budget to potentially meet these school needs.

During its November meeting this week, the Board heard a presentation on the 2025-26 Statewide Facility Needs (FNS) Report. The report identified $17.96 billion in facility needs for fiscal year (FY) 2027-2031, which is a more than $5 billion increase from the needs identified in the last report for FY 2022-2026. Board Vice Chair Alan Duncan said funding for public schools is at a “very critical point.”

“The needs increased from $13 billion to $18 billion, and they’re going up fast,” Duncan said after the presentation on Wednesday. “Also the construction industry costs have gone way up, and we talk about inflation with technology — well construction is very much in that competition.” Read more about the report’s findings here.