‘Pay the dadgum teachers!’ campaign launches

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By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works  RALEIGH (May 14, 2026) – During Teacher Appreciation Week, Public Ed Works staff launched our latest billboard campaign and shared heartwarming stories about the teachers who shaped us. And this week, legislators announced an agreement on average teacher raises of 8%! We’re grateful to the legislators who hammered out the… READ MORE

The march: What don’t legislators get?

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RALEIGH (May 1, 2026) – Thousands of North Carolina teachers made a lot of noise in Raleigh on Friday. The question is whether they made a difference. Teachers came from Halifax County, from Buncombe, from Mecklenburg, Forsyth, Guilford, Chatham and Johnston, asking for better pay – and even more, respect from the legislature in a… READ MORE

46th in teacher pay: NC stands still. Other states surge ahead.

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RALEIGH (April 29, 2026) – What a predictable embarrassment. As the only state in the country that didn’t adopt a new budget for 2025-26, North Carolina didn’t do squat for its public-school teachers last year. Other states did for their teachers. So it’s no surprise that North Carolina – the state that likes to boast… READ MORE

Parents urge legislators to increase teacher pay

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By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works (RALEIGH) –  Several nonprofits and concerned citizens gathered in front of the NC General Assembly Tuesday just hours before the start of the new session to demand lawmakers pass a budget that supports public education. Organizing groups include Red Wine & Blue, Every Child NC  and Pastors for NC… READ MORE

Former UNC soccer coach, daughter plead for school funding

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By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works CHAPEL HILL (April 23, 2026) – Former Coach Anson Dorrance of the UNC-Chapel Hill women’s soccer team and his daughter, Natalie Dorrance Harris, a school librarian, are speaking out on the public education funding crisis. Dorrance has 21 NCAA championships under his belt, which is the most by a… READ MORE

Tom Oxholm: When will business leaders wake up?

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By Tom Oxholm RALEIGH (April 16, 2026) – There is a crisis in North Carolina of underfunding our public schools (including Charters). Consider these facts: •NC is 50th in the country in average per pupil funding from state and local sources (Education Law Center’s December 2025 report). •Our ~100,000 teachers have the lowest starting pay… READ MORE

Workforce demands, now and always

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By Eric Johnson MORGANTON (April 16, 2026) – For North Carolina’s public universities, the balance between idealism and pragmatism was baked in from the beginning. The state’s original constitution calls for the promotion of “all useful learning,” and the University of North Carolina’s 1789 charter commends higher education to “consult the happiness of a rising… READ MORE

Seismic

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RALEIGH (April 9, 2026) – There’s been an upheaval in leadership of North Carolina’s General Assembly with the defeat of longtime Senate leader Phil Berger in a primary that spanned Rockingham and part of Guilford County.1 It’s difficult to overstate the influence Berger has had during 15 years as Senate President Pro Tem, deciding budget… READ MORE

Campus to community: UNC Charlotte highlights education partnerships

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By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works CHARLOTTE (April 2, 2026) – UNC Charlotte’s Cato College of Education boasts a whopping 350 community partnerships that were highlighted last week at the Charlotte Urban Institute Community Engagement Showcase. Toye Watson is Director of Community and Strategic Partnerships for the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. “We know that it… READ MORE