Education advocates and attorneys said Wednesday they are assessing their next steps after the North Carolina Supreme Court dismissed the long-running Leandro school funding case.
At a morning webinar and a rally outside the Legislative Building, speakers criticized the decision and pointed to the state legislature as an immediate focus for efforts to increase school funding, while saying that their broader strategy is still taking shape.
The court last week vacated prior orders in the case and reversed a 2022 decision that allowed judges to direct state officials to transfer funds, returning control over education spending to the General Assembly.
North Carolina Supreme Court vacates nine years of Leandro school funding orders
“This isn’t the end,” Jenice Ramirez, Co-Executive Director of Education Justice Alliance, said during the online meeting. ‘This is a time to build a stronger movement, to build power, to put even more pressure on our state legislators, state leaders, our governor and our state superintendent of public schools.”
The Leandro case, first filed in the 1990s, led to repeated court findings that North Carolina was not meeting its constitutional obligation to provide a sound, basic education, particularly in low-wealth districts. In recent years, a court-approved plan outlined steps and funding levels to address those gaps.
At Wednesday’s events, advocates said that plan remains a reference point as they consider how to proceed.
Last week’s 4-3 decision does not overturn the constitutional right to a sound basic education, but it removes the court orders designed to enforce it.
Now, the immediate focus has shifted to legislative lobbying and public pressure.
“What we must do now is to shift our focus, perhaps from the courtroom to public advocacy,” said Jackie McLean, one of the original Leandro plaintiffs who took part in the webinar..
McLean, a longtime educator in Hoke County, said her district still struggles with staffing and student support. “We have one social worker for more than 2,000 students,” she said. “We are really heartbroken, but we will not let up.”
Advocates said they plan to continue organizing in the coming weeks as lawmakers negotiate the state budget, arguing that the court’s decision increases pressure on elected officials to act.
“The Supreme Court let us down. But don’t let our legislators forget that we’re counting on them to fund our public schools,” Yevonne Brannon, chair of Public Schools First NC, told the rally at the legislative building. “Make sure everybody in this building knows that they are the ones we’re holding responsible for funding our public schools.”
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