education

RALEIGH – North Carolina’s education lottery would set aside too much revenue for unproven educational programs, a new John Locke Foundation report argues. A better formula could lead to…

RALEIGH – The Public School Forum’s annual Local School Finance Study provides little useful information for policymakers regarding funding disparities and educational equity in North Carolina, according to two analysts…

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley has announced a costly initiative to raise average teacher pay in North Carolina to “the national average and beyond,” but a preliminary analysis by the…

RALEIGH – As Gov. Mike Easley and the North Carolina General Assembly attempted to resolve a serious dispute about teacher certification, the John Locke Foundation published a report Friday concluding…

Despite a $1.3 billion deficit, Gov. Mike Easley will propose up to 6 percent higher spending in his 2005-06 budget, even with small proposed savings in most agencies. Medicaid and education spending have grown rapidly, and will continue apace. Instead, the governor plans to keep the temporary half-cent sales tax and add a large cigarette tax to pay for higher spending. This is no way to address what the Fiscal Research Division calls a structural budget deficit.

During the 2005 session, state lawmakers are expected to take up the issue of how to comply with court rulings in the Leandro case. It is important to discard widespread misperceptions. First, Leandro does not require taxpayers to spend more money on public education. Second, public-school funding does not differ significantly across counties when all spending is included. Third, the small gap that remains is shrinking, not growing, and is unlikely to explain differences in student outcomes. Finally, local funds are a reasonable way to compensate for elevated labor costs in counties with high housing prices.

RALEIGH — Lawmakers are reportedly planning to discuss an expensive state program next year to respond to state court decisions in the Leandro case, but many appear to be operating…

A recent report published by the NC Center for Public Policy Research concludes that North Carolina is facing a crisis in teacher recruitment and retention. But neither the data on projected student enrollment growth nor teacher retention rates justify such a harsh assessment. Clearly teacher recruitment and retention is a challenge that will always have to be met. The best approach is to reward those teachers who best foster achievement and to differentiate salaries among teachers according to supply and demand conditions in different disciplines.

RALEIGH – Two reports released Tuesday by the North Carolina Education Alliance provide compelling new findings about the state’s diverse and growing charter school movement, demonstrating that charter schools are…

From statehouses to corporate boardrooms to community centers, Americans are nearly universally aligned in support of transforming public education. Dismayed by overcrowding, low test scores, and high dropout rates, many people advocate overhauling the educational system in our country. Yet, however unified Americans may be on the need for educational reform, their perspectives diverge greatly on how to achieve it. Recent proposals have ranged from increasing federal funding, to requiring more stringent teacher accreditation, to lengthening school days and terms. Despite more than a decade of discussion, legislative proposals, and counterproposals, many problems remain. Yet, as public debate rages on, a group of concerned parents and educators, advocating freedom and change, is already quietly revolutionizing public education. The persistence of these reformers has resulted in a compelling alternative to traditional public schools — charter schools.