Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #leadwithleandro
Most recents (4)
Some of our favorite organizers and civil rights advocates in North Carolina signed on to an amicus brief filled with the NC Supreme Court today. everychildnc.prowly.com/198859-educati…
Matt Ellinwood from @ncjustice "The time has come for the North Carolina Supreme Court to act to implement the Comprehensive Remedial Plan on behalf of children whose constitutional rights have been violated for far too long."
.@lethabou Letha Muhammad of Education Justice Alliance "As a Black mother of children who have spent their entire school years in unconstitutionally underfunded public schools, I recognize first-hand how Leandro...will provide...affirming communities our children deserve"
One of the things that should be considered by rural legislators debating Leandro is that their counties are by and large pretty tapped out locally. Property taxes in rural counties are at a post-2003 high since 2014. The help their schools need has to come from the state. #ncpol 
In 25 counties (18 rural), the 2013-2018 income tax cut was actually completely offset by increases in local taxes. That's *without* including statewide base-broadening sales tax hikes, which at $50-$70 per household would add another 2-7 counties . #ncpol
Meanwhile Leandro compliance (and greater public health/edu investments in general, but particularly Leandro) would address specific, long-standing needs and directly benefit rural counties specifically in a way that recent tax cuts demonstrably haven't. #ncpol #LeadWithLeandro
A follow-up #LeadWithLeandro thread. Last week, I talked about how extraordinary the NCGA's stance in the case is, and someone asked me what the Court can do to make the Legislature comply. I did some research over the weekend, and here's what I learned: 1/
First, most (possibly all) state constitutions guarantee the state's children the right to a public education, and unsurprisingly, there has been litigation in many states about what counts as a Constitutionally sound education, how it should be provided and what it costs. 2/
As best as I can tell, in typical cases where there has been litigation, the Court has made a determination of what a Constitutionally sound education means in that state and has issued opinions ordering the State to comply. 3/
If you want to understand what's been happening with public school funding in NC, this is a good place to start. Combine state & federal funding, and separate expenditures on employee benefits. Everything else is lower every year since 2012 than any since at least 2004. #ncpol
Why combine state and federally funded spending? These numbers from the Statistical Profile aren't inflation-adjusted but show Obama-era stimulus plugged a revenue hole in 2010-2012. NCGA often implies 2011 was past norm but inflation-adj state $$ was down ~5% from *2004*. #ncpol
Why separate benefits? Secure pension benefits are vital and a lot of other places have not done a good job at it. What can be seen from the chart is how much it has been paid for at the expense of the rest of the school system rather than as an added cost of operating it.
