By Amy Cockerham
Public Ed Works

RALEIGH (October 2, 2025) – Over the past several weeks we’ve looked at a range of issues in North Carolina’s public schools, but one theme stands true throughout – most problems stem from a lack of funding.  

Low teacher pay

Low pay is a major concern for North Carolina teachers. The latest report from the National Education Association ranks the state 43rd in the U.S. for average teacher pay.

Just 25 years ago, North Carolina was ranked 22nd in the nation, based on a table by the American Federation of Teachers.

As inflation hits all Americans hard, teacher salaries haven’t kept up with the cost of living.

It drives potential and current teachers away from the profession, or causes them to cross state lines for better pay.

School vouchers overfunded

In recent years, North Carolina has seen a vast expansion of “Opportunity Scholarships,” or vouchers, which are taxpayer dollars for students to attend private schools.

The intent of the program established in 2013 was originally to provide low- and moderate-income families with an alternative to low-performing public schools.

Now – with no limit on the income of families who qualify – wealthy families and students who are already in private school can apply for the funds.

The state is projected to spend $731 million on voucher programs this year, according to the NC General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division.

Each public school district loses tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of state dollars due to students leaving their public schools with a voucher.

Low per-student spending

Legislators have failed to allocate enough funds to public schools to keep up with surrounding states.

GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is the value of goods and services produced in a state. In 2024, North Carolina dedicated just 2.4 percent of its GDP to spending on public schools, putting our funding effort below every state except Arizona.

In the latest data from the nonprofit Education Law Center, North Carolina spent $11,777 per student in pre-K through 12th grade, compared with a national average of $16,131. We ranked 48th in the country.

Low Pre-K enrollment

Research shows pre-kindergarten can be a crucial stage to a child’s development. Kids are more likely to be able to graduate on time, attend college and are more likely to have higher test scores in elementary school.

Though it receives high ratings for quality, NC Pre-K doesn’t serve all the kids it should. Last year, the program enrolled 27,928 children, only 57% of about 49,000 four-year-olds from low-income families who were eligible.

North Carolina’s funding model pays only about 60% of the cost, and the local community pays 40%. Many of the state’s poorest counties do not have funds to cover their portion, so they wind up forfeiting state funds.

Struggles to fill teacher pipeline

Low pay, lack of respect and inadequate resources are big reasons why school districts have trouble filling teaching positions.

The latest attrition rate, or percentage of teachers who left their jobs in a public school, was 9.88% for 2023-24.

Even in a state that is growing steadily, about 800 fewer people completed educator-preparation programs in 2024 than in 2023, an 18% decline, data from the NC Department of Public Instruction shows.

We need more teachers, not less.

Increasing tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy

While North Carolina’s public school systems grapple with underfunding, corporations and millionaires pay less and less taxes.

Funds from corporate taxes flow into the NC General Fund and are spent on public services, the largest of which is public education.

Corporate tax rates were reduced from a 6.9% rate in 2012 to 2.3% and are scheduled to drop to 0% by 2030. 25 years ago, the rate was 7%.

An even larger portion of money for education comes from personal income taxes.

The 2025 state individual income tax rate is 4.5%, which is down from 5.25% in 2021. As part of previously passed legislation, this tax rate will decline to 4.25% in 2026, and 3.99% for the years 2026 and beyond.

Conclusion

As public school funding has dipped over the past couple of decades, our ability to recruit, pay teachers well and educate our children properly has suffered.

We call on North Carolina legislators to adequately fund our public schools, so our state can continue to thrive in education, business and beyond.

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This is the final installment of our “Lessons Learned” series aiming to address how legislative actions – and inaction – in North Carolina over the past few decades have contributed to harm in our public schools. For a chronicle of our previous work, click here.