Some education groups are urging lawmakers to return to Raleigh to pass a full budget. They argue the state needs more than incremental fixes to address increasing enrollment, aging school facilities, and teacher workforce challenges. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel)
Consider this scenario, offered by Dr. Rhonda Schuhler, superintendent of Franklin County Schools: A school district wants to use federal Title I funds to hire a teacher to reduce class sizes and a certified tutor to help struggling students. But without knowing the state salary schedule, administrators don’t know if they can afford both.
“We’re somewhat in a holding pattern with that, because we don’t have a full picture of what the state salary schedule will look like to know whether it’s feasible,” Schuhler said. “Those kinds of decisions are having to be made in our district and other districts across the state.”
With traditional schools readying for their school year to begin, North Carolina’s public schools are operating without a full state budget, relying instead on a stopgap spending plan that state education officials say covers only immediate needs while leaving larger funding decisions unresolved.
The “mini-budget” bill Gov. Josh Stein signed this month, House Bill 125, prevents disruptions in state operations after lawmakers failed to agree on a comprehensive 2025-26 budget before temporarily adjourning for the summer.
“This Band-Aid budget fails to invest in our teachers and students, fails to keep families safe, fails to value hardworking state employees, and fails to fully fund health care,” the governor said in a statement after signing the bill.
It provides money for enrollment growth, step increases for teachers and instructional staff, and $9.4 million for a new statewide student information system. It also directs additional lottery funds toward school construction and allows Yancey County schools more flexibility in repairing storm-damaged facilities.
But the temporary plan leaves out the kind of multi-year commitments districts count on to launch new programs, fill long-term positions, or undertake major building projects.
“We’re still trying to determine if the language in House Bill 125 is the final adjustment to the base budget,” Elizabeth Yelverton, legislative liaison for Department of Public Instruction, told the State Board of Education on Aug. 6. “This is enough to keep the lights on, to keep us going, but we will still be advocating for the full amount of that funding.”
The General Assembly adjourned in late July with no deal on the two-year spending plan, passing a resolution to meet only one day a month until the 2026 short session begins in April. Lawmakers have been deadlocked since early summer over teacher pay raises and other education priorities. That means months could pass before districts have clarity on the state’s spending priorities for education.
Some education groups are urging lawmakers to return to Raleigh to pass a full budget. They argue the state needs more than incremental fixes to address increasing enrollment, aging school facilities, and teacher workforce challenges.
“Operating under a continuing budget means that our school districts across the state and our state educators are continuing to work under a budget that doesn’t reflect the current needs of right now,” said Tamika Walker Kelly president of No rth Carolina Association of Educators.
Rural and low-wealth districts could be affected the most. Without healthy fund balances or large tax bases, those districts have fewer options to bridge funding gaps. Still, Kelly said it’s a problem for all school districts whether they are urban or rural to be in “limbo” without a clear state budget.
While most school districts have finalized their local budgets, they are still waiting to find out how much state funding they will receive.
The mini-budget makes cuts, including eliminating $1.8 million in vacant positions at the Department of Public Instruction, ending funding for the STEM program Plasma Games and ending support services for parents of deaf or hard-of-hearing children. DPI leaders say they will work to reassign responsibilities from the eliminated positions but warn that the loss of program funding will be felt in schools.
The budget also falls short of what DPI originally requested for its new student information system, awarding $9.4 million instead of the $17.5 million sought. Officials say the reduced allocation could slow the statewide rollout, which is intended to modernize how districts track and report student data.
In the meantime, district leaders say they are making only the most important spending commitments.
“Without an approved budget that lets us know how much ultimately each position is going to cost, districts may be limited in fully moving forward with the level of instructional support that would be most beneficial in meeting the needs of our students,” Schuhler said.
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