Our #Red4EdNC blog features the voices of public school educators and advocates from around the state. If you have something to say about what’s happening in NC on the topic of public schools, please contact us at [email protected]. We want as many voices as possible to lift up all of the good things happening in public schools, highlight things that need to change, and advocate for ways to make things better!
Public Comments for House
K-12 Education Committee
By Reverend Suzanne Parker Miller, Pastors for NC Children
May 4, 2024
Good afternoon. I am The Rev. Suzanne Parker Miller, and I am the Executive Director of Pastors For North Carolina Children. I am here today to stand in opposition of House Bill 823 to further expand vouchers for unregulated, unaccountable, and discriminatory private schools and ask that instead you fully fund public education.
The voucher program dates back to the end of segregation with Brown v. Board of Ed. Segregationists, led by some white churches, wanted to continue to segregate their white children from THOSE children across town or across the tracks. They did not want THEIR White CHILDREN meeting neighbors who had more melanin in their skin. Thus segregation academies opened to perpetuate segregation at taxpayers expense. It was WRONG of churches then to encourage segregation, and it’s wrong today as well.
We have the Constitutional obligation – and Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity TODAY to FULLY FUND the Leandro Plan as a way to ensure that every single one of our children have what they each need to flourish. It’s the ONLY right and moral thing to do. It’s also the legal thing to do as you all swore an oath to uphold the NC Constitution, so I ask you to fully fund the Leandro Plan before ever considering further expanding vouchers.
The beauty and grace of public schools is that they MUST serve EVERY SINGLE CHILD who walks in their doors–regardless of disabilities or zip code or their family’s income. Public schools build up our communities. Public schools ensure EVERY SINGLE CHILD receives what they need to FLOURISH. When we fund exclusionary private schools at the EXPENSE of public schools, we are not living into God’s definition of neighbor because we are putting SOME children above others. If a public school is not good enough for YOUR child or grandchild to attend, then it’s past time we FULLY FUND that public school to make it the best it can be. Thank you.
The views and opinions expressed in guest blog posts are those of the guest bloggers and do not necessarily represent the views of Public Schools First NC, its affiliates, or staff.
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Will the NC Supreme Court Deliver a Knockout Punch to NC’s Children?
By Dr. Jonathan Sher
March 30, 2024
In the immortal words of heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson: Everyone has a plan ‘til they get punched in the mouth!
Leandro? Nothing to see here, folks. Look away (please!)
By Dr. Jonathan Sher
March 22, 2024
On Feb. 22, the North Carolina Supreme Court allowed a “do-over” hearing in the already-decided — seemingly resolved — Leandro case.
Vote to End Poverty = Vote for Academic Success
By Christine Kushner, former member, Wake County Board of Education
March 9, 2024
"There need be no poor among you." Deuteronomy 15
School vouchers are un-American
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March 1, 2024
What’s our most important institution for bringing community together? Public School.
If court sinks Leandro, NC children will go down with it
By Dr. Jonathan Sher
February 10, 2024
Saturday Night Live’s” Weekend Update” joked recently that the menu on the Titanic — the infamous, ill-fated luxury ocean liner — included not only gourmet foods, but also “bottomless water.”
To Pubic Education...I Owe You
By Terrance Ruth, Professor at NCSU
February 2, 2024
I owe a lot to public education. I owe not only my present and future but also my ancestral past.
Y'all Have Enough Bus Drivers? Another Indication That NC Is Not Fully Funding Public Schools
By Stu Egan, NC educator
August 5, 2023
[First published at caffeinatedrage.com]
Many NCGA lawmakers use a preferred name. Why can’t students use theirs?
By Kim Mackey
July 8, 2023
[First published at educatedpolicy.com]
Wake County teacher, active member of NCAE, advisory board member for Red4EdNC, and author of the educatEDpolicy blog.
Former UNC System VP: School voucher bill egregiously undermines public ed and democracy
May 26, 2023
[Originally appeared in the News & Observer on May 24, 2023]
By Charles R. Coble
Coble is a retired UNC System vice president, former Dean of East Carolina University’s School of Education, and recent co-founder of the Friends of Public Education Steering Committee, seven of whom signed on to this op-ed.
Funding Leandro Creates a More Prosperous Future for Everyone
May 26, 2023
By Frenchy Davis
Frenchy Davis is CEO/ founder of Foundation Builders Academy and BEECS Project Rocky Mount NC.
Why Vouchers Hurt Students with Disabilities
May 20, 2023
By Susan Book
The mom of an Autistic kid in a Wake County public middle school
Assistive Technology: Helping Children With Special Needs In NC Public Schools
May 13, 2023
By Jennifer Key
North Carolina parent and campaigner for special educational needs advocacy and support