Raleigh, NC — The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) is expressing it's disgust with the North Carolina Supreme Court's decision to throw out the multi-billion dollar Leandro case. After waiting more than three decades for the promise of Leandro to be fulfilled, the state Supreme Court has decided to neglect it's duties and the 1.5 million children that attend North Carolina's public schools.
"Today, thousands of North Carolina students walked into overcrowded classrooms and crumbling school buildings," said Tamika Walker Kelly, NCAE President. "And thousands of educators are committed to the young people of this state, in spite of the state’s failure to adequately fund our schools, because we believe that every child deserves the best we can give them. Today, the majority of the North Carolina Supreme Court made it clear they do not share that belief.
What the court tries to pass off as a legal technicality is, instead, a moral failure. The people paying the price for our leaders' failure are not abstractions. They are the generations of children in rural communities, past and present, who waited for 30 years for a promise never fulfilled. They are the parents and caregivers who did it all for their kids while the state failed to live up to its end of the bargain. And they are the educators who have given everything to a profession that this state continues to undervalue.
Don’t forget, North Carolina is ranked dead last in public school funding. No state does less for its public schools than North Carolina. That fact was cemented today by our highest court.
For all North Carolinians, the constitutional promise of a sound, basic education was not erased today. It was betrayed by those in power who believe that corporate tax cuts are more important than our future generations. Until the people of North Carolina rise up, reclaim our democracy and restore checks and balances, our kids will never be this state’s top priority.
While North Carolina families have demanded strong public schools for our kids, politicians and their billionaire-backers have refused to listen. That's why educators and public school supporters are gathering in Raleigh on May 1 — to highlight our state's misplaced priorities and refocus the attention of this state on the children it has failed. This is our line in the sand."
