North Carolina Budget Prioritizes Students and Families

Raleigh, NC (September 20, 2023) -- Mike Long, President of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, released the following statement regarding the North Carolina General Assembly’s budget proposal:  

"Once again, leadership in the North Carolina General Assembly is prioritizing school choice expansion, and once again sending a message that North Carolina is leading the way on education reform and parental school choice. This budget will be a huge win for students, parents and families in our state. The proposed budget will; increase teacher pay, provide access to free school meals for more students, and expand the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program which last school year served over 25,000 students across our state,” said Mike Long. 

Among the education priorities in the budget, the NCGA is seeking to expand parental school choice options by making the Opportunity Scholarship Program possible for more North Carolina students.  

“Over $16 billion in state, federal, and local funding is allocated to a public school system that, despite annual increases in funding, has lost over 30,000 students in the last two years. We need to ask the question: WHY are so many families leaving the public school system?  It’s not about funding,” Long said. 

Long went on to add, “We have long believed that this program saves the state money, now the cost savings generated by the Opportunity Scholarship Program will be reinvested into public education. This is a win-win for all students. Make no mistake about it, the state of education in North Carolina is improving because of parental school choice under the leadership of House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger. This is a sound budget for education in North Carolina, and another step in the right direction of expanding education funding that prioritizes students over systems.”