Special to IFN
RALEIGH — Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green shared the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) legislative priorities and budgetary asks for North Carolina’s public schools at the February State Board of Education (SBE) meeting.
During this meeting, the SBE officially adopted the NCDPI’s legislative agenda, marking the first time in several years that the two have shared a joint set of legislative priorities.
“It is well known that education is the greatest equalizer of lifelong success,” Green said, “and it is imperative that we sufficiently fund education for the betterment of not only our citizens, but also our state’s future. As North Carolina’s public education authority, it is our duty to ensure that our schools are cultivating excellence, and I believe these legislative priorities and budgetary asks support our mission at NCDPI and keep students at the center of our work.”
These shared priorities for the 2025-2026 fiscal year align with Green’s vision for North Carolina public schools, Achieving Educational Excellence, and the six pillars he has laid out to guide this work:
♦ Prepare each student for their next phase of life.
♦ Invest in public schools by fully funding public education.
♦ Revere public school educators.
♦ Enhance parent and community support.
♦ Ensure safe, secure learning environments.
♦ Celebrate the good in public education.
Green’s and the SBE’s overall priorities to strengthen public schools include providing additional support for students in Western North Carolina still recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Helene, raising educator pay to the highest in the Southeast and restoring master’s pay for all educators, reforming the principal pay plan to add more stability in pay and recognize school complexity, and helping to address the nearly $13 billion in school construction needs across the state.
In addition, Green and the SBE are encouraging the governor and General Assembly to place a moratorium on the automatic expansion of the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program to provide more funding to support public school students and teachers.
“On behalf of my colleagues on the N.C. State Board of Education, I’m delighted to submit joint legislative priorities with Superintendent Green for the benefit of North Carolina public school students.” SBE chairman Eric Davis said. “These priorities align with the Board’s strategic goals and offer critically needed supports for students and educators statewide. They also respond to the overwhelming needs in our communities across the western region brought on by Hurricane Helene. I am optimistic that our General Assembly will respond favorably to these priorities in making a substantive and positive difference in the lives of our students and educators.”
Green’s budgetary requests are organized around four categories:
♦ Student and School Support, which includes items such as school meals at no cost to students, increases in the number of school health personnel, additional support for exceptional children and improved school safety through additional funding for school resource officers.
♦ Academic Support and Coaching, which includes items such as greater support for low-performing districts, expansion of the state’s “science of reading” program and new resources to support mathematics instruction in grades K-8. Notably, SBE members voted in favor of adding to this category a request for “high-impact tutoring support for school districts,” which will be discussed in further detail at the March SBE meeting.
♦ Technology, which includes critical items such as recurring funds to refresh student devices, many of which were purchased with expired federal COVID-relief funds, as well as cybersecurity improvements and continued investments in school business systems modernization.
♦ Compensation Pathways, which refers to expansion of the state’s Advanced Teaching Roles Program, including recurring funding for teacher salary supplements and additional grant awards.
In addition to Green’s overarching priorities and budgetary requests, the NCDPI/SBE legislative agenda for the 2025-2026 fiscal year includes several policy and statutory changes, including providing public schools greater calendar flexibility, eliminating the testing requirement for admission to an educator preparation program and holding Helene-impacted public school units harmless for any funding losses as a result to declines in student enrollment.
The list of policy priorities and budgetary asks were compiled based on discussions between Green, NCDPI and SBE leadership, and other education stakeholders in January.