NASHVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper headed back to school Tuesday morning.
He visited his former elementary school, Nashville Elementary, to proclaim 2024 as the “Year of Public Schools” with a message on investing in public school education.
“I know firsthand the value of a good education. Mine started right here at Nashville Elementary and here I learned to read and do math. I had teachers who cared about me,” said Governor Cooper.
In front of a crowd of educators and state leaders, he stressed an urgent message– North Carolina public schools need more funding.
He said North Carolina ranks near the bottom nationally in K-12 funding.
“We’re losing good teachers because they’re underpaid and underappreciated, too often our schools are asked to do more with less, and the major threat is the legislature’s 10-year neglect of our public schools that have escalated over the last 3-4 years,” said Governor Cooper.
He also took aim at the legislature’s plans to spend more than $4 billion over the next decade for private school vouchers.
“Private schools that get voucher money don’t have to hire licensed teachers, they don’t have to provide meals, transportation or services for the disabled students,” said Governor Cooper. “They don’t even have to tell the taxpayers what they teach, how well their students perform, which students they’ll accept or reject or whether the students they accept even show up at all.”
Cooper says he plans to meet with school leaders, parents and business leaders across the state to discuss how they can make public schools better.
