Our Kids, Schools & Teachers Deserve MORE.
In 2020, North Carolina schools ranked 21st nationally, according to US News and World Report. Just four years later, under Jeff Zenger’s leadership, we have dropped to 43rd. Obviously all of the fault doesn’t lie with him, but the responsibility does.
8 out of 10 NC students attend our public schools, like both of my boys did. His kids never went to public schools. We must invest in educating our kids and supporting their schools and teachers. The cost of failure is too great.
Jeff doesn’t see it that way.
In 2023, Zenger co-sponsored the bill that expanded vouchers and defunded NC schools by $650M in the next school year alone.
Did you know that under Rep. Jeff Zenger’s leadership NC spends nearly $5,000 less per student than the national average – 48th in the nation?
Did you know that under Jeff Zenger’s leadership no state in America spends less of its Gross State Product on public education than North Carolina? We rank dead last. No wonder our schools are dropping like a rock. It certainly isn’t our teachers – they’re some of the best in the country. It’s our politicians.
Under Jeff Zenger’s leadership, NC ranks 46th nationally in beginning teacher pay – worse than Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Ever heard Jeff Zenger come up with a plan or talk about improving our kids’ schools? He’s my State Representative and I’ve never heard him talk about improving our kids’ futures.
Even when I invited him to an education event at Lewisville Library in May 2024 to listen to students in his own district, he didn’t come.
We must invest in educating our kids; the cost of failure is too great.
Economic experts say “Show me your budget and I’ll show you what you value.” Our kids and schools come in dead last on Jeff Zenger and NC’s politicians in Raleigh.
As our next State Representative, this is my plan to Build Better NC Schools for our kids.
1. Fully Fund Our Kids’ Schools.
Honestly, this should be a no-brainer. We have great teachers. We have great kids. Let’s give them what they need to produce great results so we can keep building a better North Carolina.
2. Provide More Physical and Mental Support for Our Kids in School.
It’s not just about public school safety. While that’s important, and I fully support school resource officers, I bet every parent knows that student mental health is a growing problem, and JUST supporting school resource officers doesn’t address this growing problem.
In 2020, the last year complete data is available, 56 NC children between the ages of 5-17 died by suicide, continuing an alarming upward trend over the past decade. This very real mental health crisis is a real threat to NC kids and their academic success. On my Listening Tour, I learned that the two high schools in our district are at the top of the suicide list.
Current stats don’t lie–Jeff Zenger’s leadership has led to failing schools and more student suicides. It’s time to make a change.
NC teachers are on the front lines in the battle against the mental health crisis, but they need reinforcements. Our kids’ teachers and counselors want to help every student in need, but NC continues to lag behind national recommendations in the numbers of school psychologists, counselors, social workers and nurses per student. Did you know school psychologists cover 2,000 kids each? Counselors cover nearly 400 kids each? And school nurses cover nearly 1,000 students each? This isn’t working. And our kids are paying the price.
We can certainly debate how much we allocate, but the facts are that we MUST INVEST MORE funding so our kids’ schools can hire desperately needed teacher assistants, school nurses, counselors, bus drivers, social workers and psychologists to address the challenges our kids face while meeting all of the already staggering staffing requirements based on national political standards.
3. Provide Extra Tutoring Support for Our Kids.
I don’t have to tell any post-COVID North Carolina parents this, but the past several years have been incredibly tumultuous at school for our kids and educators; disruptions in learning exacerbate many of the factors that cause students to fall behind academically.
As our next State Representative, I will fight for additional funding for in-school tutoring to help our kids catch up to where they need to be to succeed and grow in their academic journeys. We won’t excel if we ignore the problem.
4. This Is Basic: Provide Breakfast and Lunch at School.
Did you know one in six North Carolina children go hungry, according to the North Carolina Association of Feeding America Food Banks? Between 2021 and 2022, there was an 11% decrease in the number of students receiving school lunch and a 14% decrease in those receiving school breakfast – directly coinciding with the end of COVID-era federal breakfast and lunch programs. Politicians cut these programs and our kids are suffering because of it. It’s time to reevaluate the politically motivated choices that hurt our kids and their education.
No-cost school meals can help ensure fewer students go hungry and are an investment in academic success. Studies show that students who participate in school meal programs have improved attendance, behavior, academic performance, and achievement. When kids eat healthy meals they are better able to focus in class. Our food service professionals are an asset, ready to serve entire school communities hot and healthy meals.
5. Recruit & Retain Quality Teachers. Raise salaries. Return Master’s Pay.
If you have a kid in North Carolina schools you already know the difference a good teacher versus a great teacher can make in their success. And we are blessed with many great teachers. But we could be doing a much better job recruiting them and retaining them, if we used more of the surplus our NC budget has to compensate them fairly. North Carolina currently ranks at the bottom of the barrel for new teacher pay, and it’s showing in national rankings and our school struggles.
Did you know enrollment in education programs continues to drop at the same time our state is seeing a record number of teachers leaving the profession – particularly among early career educators? According to the newest data from DPI, 11.5% of North Carolina teachers left their teaching positions last school year, and our public schools are short more than 6,000 teachers. The most commonly cited reason for our kids’ teachers leaving our public schools is for “a career change,” and while we can’t know for sure the exact reasons, we do know that these educators are likely able to find higher-paying jobs in states right next door, and in other professions as our state continues to grow.
Jeff Zenger isn’t addressing this problem, but I will.
As our next State Representative, I will fight every day to restore full longevity and master’s degree pay for all teachers and school-based administrators. This will help North Carolina ensure our students have access to the highly qualified educators they deserve. And we will pass a much-needed teacher pay raise.
Eight out of 10 NC students attend our public schools, like both of my boys did. Zenger’s kids never went to public schools. We must invest more NOW in educating our kids; the cost of failure is too great.