NEW REPORT: Robinson’s Education Plan Would Lay Off More Than 6,400 Teachers in North Carolina

Nearly 14,000 school employees would lose their jobs while NC taxpayers subsidize students in other states

Yesterday, the North Carolina Justice Center released a report on the devastating potential impact of Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson’s plan to reject federal funding for public education. The report illustrates the disastrous consequences of this proposal, including firing more than 6,400 of the state’s classroom teachers.  

Last month, WRAL reported that at a fundraiser, Robinson said about federal funding: “If I had my way about it, they’d send the check and I’d say, ‘Oh, no, you can have it. I don’t want your money.” When WRAL asked Robinson’s campaign “where they would find the money to cover” $1.1 billion in lost federal funds, Robinson’s campaign had no answer. 

The Justice Center finds that Robinson’s plan would mean “slashing already-underfunded school budgets by approximately 10 percent,” which would translate to firing:  

• 7 percent of all classroom teachers (6,436)
• 21 percent of all teacher assistants (4,659)
• 15 percent of all instructional support personnel, including nurses, counselors, and social workers (2,810) 

They also find that “students with disabilities and students from families with low incomes” would be harmed the most by Robinson’s plan. Meanwhile, North Carolinians’ taxpayer dollars would be “subsidizing students in other states” at North Carolina students’ expense. 
“Mark Robinson could not be more wrong for North Carolina’s students,” said Morgan Hopkins, a spokesperson for the campaign. “He wants to send our tax dollars to other states and defund our public schools even further. This November, North Carolina voters will vote for the public education candidate: Josh Stein.”