Judge: N Carolina must spend $1.75B to narrow education gap

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina trial judge on Wednesday ordered the state to pay out $1.75 billion to help narrow the state’s public education inequities, angering Republicans who said the directive usurps lawmakers’ constitutional authority over state coffers. The state Supreme Court ruled in 2004 in the Leandro lawsuit — named after an early student plaintiff — that while North Carolina’s children have a fundamental right to the “opportunity to receive a sound basic education” under the constitution, the state had not lived up to that mandate. “The repeated failure by the state is a constitutional violation that has to be remedied,” Lee said during a court hearing, saying he’s hopeful the order will “minimize the encroachment on legislative authority through the least intrusive remedy that I can come up with.” Lee’s order, which largely backs the wishes of local school boards and guardians of current students who remain plaintiffs, tells state finance officials to send enough funds to two education agencies and the health department to cover two years of a remedial spending plan that targets at-risk children. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger said after the hearing that a judge “does not have the legal or constitutional authority to order a withdrawal from the state’s general fund.” “This case has devolved into an attempt by politically allied lawyers and the governor to enact the governor’s preferred budget plan via court order, cutting out the legislature from its proper and constitutional role,” the Republicans said in a joint statement. Lee cited a part of the state constitution that says “the people have a right to the privilege of education, and it is the duty of the state to guard and maintain that right.” Every Child NC, composed of advocacy groups, praised Lee’s order, adding that minority students, rural students and those learning English were among those hurt the most by school system failures: “Today is an unambiguous victory for North Carolina’s 1.5 million students, their families and the communities across the state that all benefit from strong, inclusive public schools and early education.” The legislature’s response to the 2004 ruling received sporadic attention for more than a decade from lawmakers and a previous judge.