The plan was ready in 2021. Everyone agreed. Here's what your schools would look like today if they'd funded it.
they had the money. they chose not to.
Forsyth County never hits the deficit. 350 people keep their jobs.
Leandro would have added roughly $100 million per year to Forsyth's state allocation. The $45M deficit would have been more than covered.
Instead: $45M hole. 350 laid off. Fundraisers for public schools.
* Leandro funding would have more than filled the gap in Forsyth. The district also needs to get its house in order. Both things are true. But only one of them is a 32-year constitutional violation.
Stokes County teachers stay. Rural kids get AP courses.
The plan funds what drives teachers out of counties with smaller budgets. The salary supplements, the pipeline, the course access.
Instead: 4% supplement. Teachers leave for Guilford. Kids locked out.
Every school staffed. Nurses. Counselors. Psychologists.
Forsyth alone would gain 422 teachers, 126 counselors, 59 nurses, 40 psychologists, and 100 social workers.
Instead: 1 counselor per 359 students. Recommended: 1 per 250.
Pre-K expanded. Kids entering kindergarten on track.
Smart Start fully funded. NC Pre-K expanded. The single most cost-effective education investment there is.
Instead: $600M+ to vouchers. 90% of recipients were never in public school.
To inflation reserves and savings. Not classrooms.
Corporate tax rate. Was 6.9% in 2013. Headed to 0% by 2030.
To private school vouchers this year. Around 90% of recipients were never in public school.
They had the money. They chose not to fund the plan.
Source: Public Schools First NC; NC Justice Center; NC Newsline; EdNC (June 2025, DPI voucher data)
The state broke a promise. The money exists. They chose not to pay.
Three generations of students have passed through NC public schools since this case was filed. None of them got what the courts said they were owed.
— Melanie Dubis, attorney for plaintiff school districts, NC Supreme Court oral arguments, February 2024
32 years. They never paid.
The courts are done. Elect people who'll fund schools because it's right, not because a judge made them. State house. State senate. Every seat.
Keep Anita Earls in 2026. Flip two seats in 2028. This court killed Leandro. The next one doesn't have to look like this one.
Current court: 5R-2D. Earls (D) up in 2026 vs. Sarah Stevens (R). Three R seats up in 2028: Newby, Barringer, Berger Jr. Win 2 of 3 = 4-3 D majority.
They had $600M+ for vouchers. They killed the case that would have funded your kid's school. Ask your legislator why.