North Carolina’s top elected officials have announced the formation of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education.
Governor Josh Stein, Senate Leader Phil Berger and Speaker of the House Destin Hall announced the plan in a joint press release.
Stein called the new bipartisan commission of 28 policymakers, business leaders and educators a commitment to making the state’s public schools the best in the nation.
Longtime teacher and North Carolina Association of Educators President Tamika Walker Kelly says the biggest challenge facing public schools is not a lack of ideas, further study or another committee.
She points to the state’s 50th-place standing in the country’s per-pupil funding.
"Over the past decade, we have seen lawmakers choose to send billions in tax breaks and to private school vouchers instead of investing that money in our public schools," says Kelly. "And so our educators and our students and our families in public schools continue to see that we are asking our teachers to do more and more with less and less."
Forsyth County Board of Commissioners Chair Don Martin was appointed to the new blue ribbon commission. He spent 19 years as superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
"Clearly, good practices require money to implement," says Martin. "But I think it is also important to look strategically at the kind of investments that you're making, and where are we making good investments, and where are we really low. I think in some areas we are. It's not just about the money, it's also about how money is used."
Martin says the commission’s goal will be to improve student achievement.
He says he and his colleagues will attempt to determine the current state of public education in North Carolina, assess the efficiency of how those services are being delivered and compare that with other models around the country.
