Opinion: Adequate public school funding awaits NC Supreme Court Leandro decision

The recent switch in the partisan makeup of the North Carolina Supreme Court may lead to a new chapter in a key case involving the funding of public education in the state. At issue is whether the Supreme Court may bypass the state legislature and directly fund the state’s education equity plan when the legislature declines to do so. And, in a novel maneuver, the Republican legislature is hoping to use the same case to completely blow up the reform mandate by attacking the jurisdiction of the court.

In the most recent version of Leandro v. State of N.C., decided in November 2022, the Court decided that it could step in and fund schools if the legislature failed in its constitutional duty to provide a “sound basic education for all students.” But that was when the Court still had a 4-3 Democratic majority. The GOP flipped the partisan complexion of the Court in that same month’s election, gaining a 5-2 majority, and the new majority has not been shy about reversing the Court’s own precedents.

In the present version of Leandro, Republican legislative leaders are asking the newly Republican Court to strike down the then-Democratic Court’s previous decision and renounce its assertion of spending authority on the basis that the decision violates the principle of the “separation of powers.” This principle dictates that each of the three branches of government — legislative, executive and judicial — stays in its own lane. And spending is traditionally the right of the legislature.

At issue is billions of dollars to improve public schools. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Feb. 22; there is no schedule for decision.

This is the fifth time the case has made the trip to the Supreme Court. Thirty years ago, five impoverished rural counties sued the state, asserting it was denying school districts constitutionally adequate funding to meet student needs, particularly needs of disadvantaged students. In response, the state has pled poverty, although the Court found that the state has “more than sufficient funds.”

After decades of court proceedings, in 2020, the Superior Court overseeing the case ordered the state to draw up and fund a remedial plan, now estimated to cost $6 billion over eight years. But the state legislature, which is in GOP hands, provided only half of the initial $1.7 billion needed for the plan. In response, the Superior Court ordered the State Treasurer to bypass the legislature and provide the rest. This decision was endorsed by the Democratic-dominated Supreme Court just before the 2022 elections switched the Court to Republican control.

Republican legislative leaders oppose the Leandro mandate, and they have adopted a novel strategy. In addition to challenging the transfer, they have attacked the Court’s jurisdiction to dictate a uniform statewide plan. If the Republican Court concludes that it never had grounds for such a universal program, Leandro will evaporate. In the meantime, the expenditure has been stayed pending the Court’s decision.

So now it’s in the hands of a newly Republican Supreme Court. Will this court reach a different conclusion than its Democratic predecessor? Or will it uphold its previous decision and free the funds needed for education reform? Or will it eliminate Leandro entirely? We will soon find out.

Leandro funds are in addition to the basic state education budget and support targeted programs. According to the public education advocacy group Public Schools First NC, by 2028, the Leandro plan would add an estimated $41.4 million to the Buncombe County Schools budget and $19 million to the county’s preschool programs.

If the Court overturns its own prior decision regarding transfers, Leandro proponents will once again have to rely on the normal legislative appropriations process. Rep. Lindsey Prather, state representative for southwestern Buncombe County, is one Leandro advocate.

“I was proud to sponsor a bill to implement the Leandro plan in 2023, which would fund the Teaching Fellows program, hire additional support staff, and expand the Pre-K program to cover the full cost of eligible children,” she said. “In spite of the House GOP's continued efforts to shift public money to private schools through the taxpayer-funded voucher program, Democrats will continue working to provide a better education for every student in North Carolina."

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Charles Edwards reported on Congress and federal agencies for 35 years.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Republican-led NC Supreme Court could undo school funding