Education costs snags more than half of North Carolina’s $34.4B state budget

Public school K-12 spending in North Carolina’s proposed state budget has the largest share of the $34.4 billion spending plan.

Lawmakers began voting on the bill Wednesday and finished Thursday, sending it forward to first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. He’ll have 10 days for a decision to reject, sign or allow it to become law without his signature.

The 2025 Appropriations Act, known also as Senate Bill 257, has average raises of 8% for teachers. Those with 16 or more years of experience will get bonuses of $1,000, those with less get $500.

The state is home to 90,000 educators and about 1.5 million schoolchildren in its 11.2 million population. In passage of the last two-year budget in 2023, the state became the 10th to implement universal school choice.

A year later in November 2024, the Legislature appropriated $463 million to the Opportunity Scholarship program to wipe out a waiting list of about 55,000.

Budget writers have appropriated $12.5 billion to the Department of Public Instruction, and $35.8 million to the deaf and blind residential schools. Coupled with $5.03 billion to the University of North Carolina System, and $1.86 billion to the North Carolina Community College System, education – both K-12 and higher ed – have $19.43 billion (56.1%) from General Fund appropriations.

In K-12 spending, the plan addresses math education; literacy for fourth- and fifth-graders; incentivizes participation in federal school meals programming; and promotion of the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline phone number.

The budget will eliminate national advocacy groups' ability to challenge books and classroom materials, instead limiting challenges to parents, guardians of students, teachers, and people who live within a school’s attendance district.

Teacher licensure, through the budget, would become more user friendly for teachers trying to move into the state to teach. Those with three years experience and in good standing could obtain full, renewable licenses. The new language replaces a need for identical licensing practices.

Artificial intelligence is also addressed, with the Department of Public Instruction tasked with adopting standards and model policy for the 115 school boards across the state.