Democrats call for Leandro funding after court loss

Democratic lawmakers began North Carolina’s legislative short session on April 21 by renewing their push to fund the Leandro school spending plan, three weeks after the state Supreme Court voided every Leandro ruling since 2017 and dismissed the 32-year-old case with prejudice.

State Rep. Julie von Haefen, D-Wake, has filed House Bill 1017, her seventh attempt to enact the comprehensive remedial plan approved by a trial court in 2021.

The bill would appropriate billions in new recurring spending for fiscal year 2026-2027, including $731.8 million for teacher raises, $450.3 million for children with disabilities, $333.4 million to expand NC Pre-K, and $37 million for the NC Teaching Fellows Program. It also authorizes a $4 billion school construction bond referendum for the 2026 ballot.

At a legislative press conference, von Haefen said she was undeterred by the Supreme Court’s April 2 decision.

“I’m tired of asking, tired of filing these bills,” von Haefen said. “I’m tired of standing at microphones begging the state to fund public education. I’m tired of being ignored by this legislative majority, and I’m tired of being dismissed by the Supreme Court … But my resolve is unbroken.”

Democrats have taken aim at Chief Justice Paul Newby’s majority opinion, which held that the judicial branch “is not the venue in which to seek educational policy reform” and that the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to order statewide spending. The 4-3 ruling split the court largely along party lines, but with Republican Justice Richard Dietz joining both Democrats in dissent.

“The state constitution is not a policy preference. It is the supreme law of the state, and interpreting it is the job of the court,” von Haefen said. “The judicial branch has basically washed its hands of this issue and thrown it back to the legislature. Well, fine, then let’s own it.”

State Rep. Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe, a former Buncombe County Schools teacher, argued that economic conditions have widened the funding shortfall since the last comprehensive state budget passed in October 2023.

“Our state has not passed a comprehensive budget since October of 2023,” Prather said. “A lot has changed in our state. Since then, cost of living has risen by 6%, and we’ve added 320,000 people to our state, and yet funding has not risen. Salaries for our teachers have not risen beyond inflation. The federal government has cut back federally funded programs that our schools benefited from over the last 15 years.”

Recent opinion polling shows that North Carolina voters do not want to increase taxes to support public schools. An April 7 Catawba College–YouGov survey found only 27% of North Carolinians support raising taxes to increase public school funding, while 47% oppose the idea. No partisan group — including Democrats, at 43% support — reaches majority backing for tax hikes to fund schools.

Robert Luebke, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation, said renewed Leandro funding proposals face a fundamental political problem.

“Leandro — the case — is pretty much dead,” Luebke said. “The ideas that propelled it will still be debated in the legislature, and the courts may take up another case raising similar issues. It’s time to realize those fighting for restoration of Leandro funding is a minority viewpoint. If someone wants to change that viewpoint, they can make their arguments in the legislature and with the electorate.”

State spending on public schools has also continued to climb without Leandro-specific appropriations. A Carolina Journal analysis of Department of Public Instruction data shows total state K-12 funding grew from $12.60 billion in 2024-25 to $12.75 billion in 2025-26, even as enrollment fell by roughly 4,700 students. Per-pupil state spending has risen nearly 27% over seven years, to an estimated $8,312 in 2025-26.

Former Chief Justice Burley Mitchell, who wrote the original 1997 Leandro decision, recently argued that “school funding is not the only, or probably even the best, measure of whether the state is meeting its constitutional responsibility,” urging a greater focus on student outcomes.

Republican legislative leaders have not scheduled HB 1017 for a hearing. Von Haefen acknowledged that all six of her previous Leandro bills were referred to the House Rules Committee — where legislation typically dies without debate — rather than to education policy or appropriations committees.

Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, have pointed to the Republican budget proposal to raise starting teacher pay to $50,000 and provide average 8.7% raises as evidence of their commitment to public education.

“Democrats call for Leandro funding after court loss” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.