Parents, Educators, Administrators, State Superintendent and Local Elected Officials Send General Assembly the Same Urgent Message: Fund Schools First

RALEIGH, N.C., April 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an effort to send a message to make education funding a higher priority, leaders of six state education groups held a press conference today asking the General Assembly to "Fund Schools First."

The North Carolina Association of Educators, the North Carolina PTA, the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction, the North Carolina School Boards Association, the North Carolina Association of School Administrators, and The North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals Association joined together to expose the detriment of state budget cuts to public education, and to set the stage for a battle with lawmakers to prevent any further cuts.

In a show of unity, representatives of each organization urged the Governor and members of the General Assembly to avoid making any more cuts to education and to restore the $409 million dollars in cuts made last year. The press conference kicked off the coalition's "Fund Schools First" campaign, which included the release of the report, Stop K-12 Funding Cuts.

The report, compiled by the NCAE, highlights some startling and sobering facts about public education funding in North Carolina, for example:

• Funding of K-12 education as a percentage of the state budget continues to slide, dropping over 17 percentage points since 1970. University and community college funding has increased or remained relatively unchanged.
• North Carolina lost more than 5,000 jobs in public education in the 2009-10 school year.
• North Carolina ranks 11th out of the 12 Southeastern States for K-12 public education funding
• Education Week magazine's annual Quality Counts report gives North Carolina an "F" for K-12 education spending, but a B+ for Standards and Accountability.
• North Carolina spends 2.8 of its taxable resources on public education. The national average is 3.8 percent.

The Fund Schools First coalition will continue to urge the General Assembly to reverse the downward and unacceptable trend of public education funding in North Carolina.

The six groups are cosponsoring a rally on May 15 at the Museum Plaza in downtown Raleigh to welcome members of the General Assembly with the clear message: Fund Schools First.

For more information and a copy of the full report, visit fundschoolsfirst.com.

SOURCE North Carolina Association of Educators