By Public Schools First
October 26, 2024

During elections this year, voters in a number of counties will be asked to vote on local tax increases. Some, such as Union County and Orange County residents will vote on school bonds that will raise their property taxes to fund school construction projects. Others, such as Currituck, Guilford, and Transylvania County residents, are voting on a sales tax increase to generate revenue for various county needs ranging from courthouse renovation to increasing teacher salary supplements. 

Local governments are the last line of defense for communities when federal or state funding sources fall short of what’s needed to provide vital services.

Article 9 of the North Carolina State Constitution puts the responsibility for education squarely on the state government, “The General Assembly shall provide by taxation and otherwise for a general and uniform system of free public schools, which shall be maintained at least nine months in every year, and wherein equal opportunities shall be provided for all students.”  

As a result of this constitutional mandate, the majority of funding for public schools must come from the state. The percentage has varied over the years, but ranges from 60% – 67% in any given year. The federal government’s pandemic relief funds have bolstered the federal portion in recent years to a state average of 17% in 2022-2023, but the typical federal portion is usually 10% to 12%. Local revenue from county taxes makes up the difference.

The state is responsible for setting the base pay for teachers, principals, school counselors, nurses, school social workers, psychologists, and other staff. The state also sets policies for teacher licensure and funds programs such as school safety, workforce development, and early college programs. The state establishes the laws for the accountability and transparency of all public, private, and home school operations.

When state and federal funding are insufficient to meet the needs of school districts, the last resort for communities is the local government. According to state law, local government funding should be reserved for capital projects such as building, equipping, and maintaining all school buildings. Growing student populations put a huge strain on local budgets as district officials ask for more funds to build and maintain enough schools to serve all students. 

In recent years, local funds have been used to supplement staff salaries and fund programs where state dollars were insufficient. If the state fully funded public education and paid North Carolina’s educators competitive, professional wages, this strain on local budgets would disappear.

Guilford County’s sales tax increase on this year’s ballot is a direct result of inadequate state funding. All revenues from the increase will be used to increase the county’s local salary supplement for teachers and classified employees of Guilford County Schools. The local supplement in every county increases salaries for staff above what the state base provides. Because North Carolina’s base salaries are so low (i.e. lowest in the Southeast – see our fact sheet), many districts have a difficult time filling positions and must rely on local supplements to attract and retain staff.

Other counties such as Wake have deferred much-needed school maintenance projects to address critical bus driver shortages and fill teacher vacancies. As a result, students have lost valuable instructional time when they are sent home due to heating/air-condition failures. Similar problems have been reported across the state. Mold in schools delayed the start of the school year in Person County (and others) and caused numerous school closures in Alamance County.

Yet despite a growing population and more than $4 billion in state reserves, the NCGA has continued to underfund public schools while spending hundreds of millions on private school vouchers.

North Carolina’s corporate tax rate of 2.5% is already the lowest in the nation. In comparison, Virginia’s is 6% and South Carolina’s is 5%. Even though North Carolina has a growing population and a thriving business climate, the state has established further corporate tax rate cuts that will bring the rate to 0% by 2030, cutting off a vital source of revenue.

The NCGA has determined that it is up to local residents to pay for services, not the corporations that do business here.

Ask your legislators why you’re being asked to pay more when corporations are being asked to pay less. Why is the state refusing to fulfill its constitutional mandate to provide sufficient funding for public education?

Will local governments and residents also have to foot the bill to fully rebuild communities when state/federal funding falls short after disasters like Hurricane Helene?

The content of this post comes from Public Schools First.