New Hanover County Schools' budget shortfall is a 'teachable moment' | Sen. Michael Lee
Accusations have been thrown around about who’s at fault for causing New Hanover County Schools’ $20 million budget shortfall. But the facts about how education is funded in North Carolina have been conveniently ignored.
Education funding is comprised of state, local and federal dollars.
At the national level, the average split is 47% state, 45% local, and 8% federal.
In North Carolina, the average split is, 63% state, 24% local, and 13% federal.
The local funding stream varies by state, but in North Carolina, that funding comes from counties.
In the National Education Association’s most recent report, North Carolina ranked 12 in the nation for the percentage of state-supported education funding.
The Republican-led legislature has pumped more than $4.7 billion into public education. During fiscal year 2010-11, the K-12 education budget was $7 billion. By the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year, it’ll be nearly $12 billion.
The state has and will continue to prioritize education. When you combine state, local, and federal funds, school districts have the financial resources necessary to improve the educational outcomes of students.
However, when entities fail to properly budget those resources, school districts face consequential, unpopular decisions. New Hanover County is in the middle of a self-imposed financial crisis despite having fewer students to teach and more money from the state.
New Hanover County Schools had 25,852 students in 2014 and the state provided $137,345,104 in funding. Nearly a decade later, New Hanover County Schools has 25,230 students and receives $184,454,410 from the state. Per pupil funding for students in New Hanover County has increased nearly 50% during that time — from $9,018 in 2014-15 to $13,471 in 2022-23.
So why is the school board facing layoffs and budget cuts? It’s simple. Local decisions about how to use one-time federal funds caused the $20 million shortfall.
During the pandemic the federal government sent billions of dollars to states to support education while children were locked out of their classrooms. Those dollars were always meant to be one-time funds. Instead, school districts across the country used those funds for recurring needs, creating foreseeable budget crunches.
The school board was warned about the looming shortfall. You can go back and listen to the previous budget cycles and hear the warnings district staff gave the school board. The superintendent said there would be a massive shortfall. His projection was accurate.
The facts about North Carolina’s education landscape have been misrepresented to justify getting even more money from the state. It’s a disingenuous maneuver.
First, while the North Carolina General Assembly consistently ranks at the top of the nation in K-12 education funding, common sense and research shows that the amount of money you spend isn’t the best predictor of outcomes, it’s how you spend it.
Second, North Carolina’s quality of education also ranks well in comparison to the rest of the country — CNBC ranks us seventh and U.S. News and World Report has us coming in at 13. When I travel across the country to talk with other education leaders, they often tell me they envy what we have. Whether it is Smart Start, the Excellent Public Schools Act, or our dual enrollment and amazing community college system, they’re all models for other states to emulate.
The decision by New Hanover County Schools to spend one-time funds on recurring obligations is a perfect example of what not to do. It’s a teachable moment. Detractors must accept it as the real reason for this budget shortfall. Luckily, the numbers speak for themselves.
Sen. Michael V. Lee represents New Hanover County in the North Carolina Senate.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Sen. Michael Lee writes about New Hanover Schools budget shortfall
