CHARLOTTE (February 12, 2026) – The former Chairman and CEO of Bank of America knows a thing or two about building talent.

But he’s alarmed at what he sees happening to North Carolina’s public schools.

“I’ve been very disturbed to find that we’ve losing ground in the schools,” Hugh McColl says in the accompanying video. “We used to be at the top here in the Southeast, and we’ve dropped to where we’re 49th out of 50 in terms of K-through-12 financing.

“I hope you’ll talk to your legislators about this,” McColl says. “They are the people who are gonna make the decision about what happens to your child.

“These are our young people, our kids, our grandkids. Let’s don’t let ‘em down,” he says.