LENOIR, N.C. – As a former School Board member in Caldwell County and a retired teacher, I am compelled to address the most important issue of the last quarter century in North Carolina public education – The Leandro Case. I was recently asked by the group Community Conversations if I pledge to support the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan. My answer is an unequivocal yes.

Liberty begins with knowledge, so society has a vested interested in an educated, informed, wise and involved populace. Knowledge requires that our public schools are empowered and required to fulfill their Constitutional responsibilities to provide a sound, adequate and equitable education for all children of our State.

It is quite timely, for as the Public School Forum of North Carolina reports, the State Supreme Court is reconsidering the ruling from two years ago, endangering – again – implementation of the Comprehensive Leandro Plan 30 years after North Carolina courts first began requiring the State to address inadequate and inequitable funding structures in the state’s public schools that was – and is – harming hundreds of thousands of students throughout North Carolina. This makes awareness and support of the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial plan more important than ever, and a key reason I support it.

Why I support the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan

The email from Community Conversations (in italics) explains the background of Leandro:

According to the NC Constitution, the state is obligated to provide “access to a sound basic education for every child.” On November 4, 2022, the Leandro IV NC Supreme Court verdict required the state to invest and implement the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan. The directives issued by the North Carolina Supreme Court details an eight-year strategic plan to invest $5.54B over eight years to remediate systemic and persistent challenges faced by students and educators across our state. Despite thirty years of Leandro v. NC litigation and four clear rulings in favor of Leandro, the General Assembly has yet to comply with The NCSC decisions requiring the state to deliver on its constitutional duty. Every citizen and elected official has the opportunity to leverage our positions, our votes and our voices to protect the rights of children and advocate for the funding and implementation of the corrective actions set forth in the “Leandro Plan.”

Pursuant to Leandro v. NC:

• Every child in North Carolina has the state constitutional right to a “sound basic education”;
• This right has been violated for students across North Carolina, disproportionately impacting Black, English learning, disabled students and children who live in rural counties; 
• A comprehensive Plan for delivering a “sound basic education” was carefully created by respected educators; agreed by all the parties; and, approved by the lower courts; 
• A majority of the NC Supreme Court issued a strong verdict in November 2022 requiring that the state fund and implement The Leandro Plan, using funds that are readily available.

To learn more about Leandro, please visit bit.ly/iamleandro.

Hence, the group states, “We believe that education is the cornerstone of a thriving society, and your commitment to these principles will resonate with constituents who share our vision for an inclusive and equitable future.” While I don’t have constituents, I do have readers. I have covered this issue since the mid 1990s. I believe that we must take the following steps recommended by Community Conversations:

1. Advocate for Full Investment in the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan:

Commit to supporting no less than the full budget outlined in the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan, ensuring the necessary resources are allocated for its successful implementation.

Support Protection of Education Funding: Prohibit reductions in the general budget and oppose any attempts to defund education further, such as the voucher expansion bill that passed in the last budget session, which removes $203 million from the public school budget.

2. Support for Corrective Actions:

Advocate for and support the complete and timely implementation of all corrective actions specified in the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan to address deficiencies and disparities in the North Carolina public education system.

3. Use of Elected Power for Education Access:

Commit to use the full extent of the power vested in you as an elected official by the people of the state of North Carolina to effectuate and/or advocate for the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial plan, making a sound basic education accessible to every child in accordance with their constitutional right.

My reasoning is simple – justice. I have covered this as a journalist from the first days and made it a focus of my ongoing study and reporting of North Carolina education. I have a preferential concern for the poor and vulnerable.

My position is consistent with classical liberal philosophy that guides much of classical educational thinking. Liberty begins with knowledge, so society has a vested interested in an educated, informed, wise and involved populace. Knowledge requires that our public schools are empowered and required to fulfill their Constitutional responsibilities to provide a sound, adequate and equitable education for all children of our State.

The law, morality and our state motto – “Esse quam videri” (“To be rather than to seem”) require it.

© Michael M. Barrick, 2024.