Week of Action for equitable education funding to kick off on October 13

RALEIGH (October 11, 2021) – Public education advocates will gather for a Week of Action beginning on October 13 to demand adequate funding for North Carolina’s public schools. The school year is two months old, and the General Assembly has yet to deliver a budget that meets our students’ basic needs.

In June, North Carolina’s Superior Court ordered the state to comply with the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan, a comprehensive set of spending and policy reforms necessary to provide students in North Carolina’s public schools the education they are owed. The legislature must comply with the court order to fully fund public schools by October 18.

Our state has unprecedented revenue availability, allowing us to fund the plan without raising taxes or cutting other vital state services. Lawmakers are working to finalize a state budget and the countdown to compliance deadline is approaching, but the current public education budget proposals offered by the House & Senate fall well short of what’s needed to fund the court-ordered Leandro Plan.

Events for the week are as follows:

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13:
9 a.m. Press conference inside the General Assembly with Every Child NC leaders Marcus Bass, Jenice Ramirez, and Rev. Paul Ford who will be joined by Representative Robert Rieves and Representative Julie von Haefen.

9:30 a.m. Bilingual press event on the lawn of the General Assembly with Every Child NC and partners

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16: 
12:00 p.m. Rally to Prioritize People at Bicentennial Plaza, downtown Raleigh. Sponsored by Every Child NC and People’s Budget NC

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18:
10 a.m. Prayer vigil with North Carolina clergy at Bicentennial Plaza, downtown Raleigh