CBC Editorial: Thursday, Feb . 2, 2023; editorial #8824
The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company
Slogans are easy and are vehicles to mask reality.
Just examine North Carolina state Senate Leader Phil Berger’s oration to
open the 2023 session of the General Assembly.
BERGER’S SLOGANEERING: “We must disabuse ourselves of the notion that more money alone buys positive outcomes for our students. … Success in education policy is about more than hitting some arbitrary funding goal.”
UNMASKED REALITY: It is NOT about money. It IS about providing the basic resources necessary so students and educators have the tools needed to get the job done. That’s not “arbitrary.” It is about providing the promised quality education the state Constitution guarantees but Berger’s failing to deliver.
Is Berger talking about his refusal to fully-fund the Leandro Remedial Plan? That isn’t some “arbitrary funding goal.” It is what it takes for a careful, very detailed programmatic approach to fixing the state’s failure to keep its obligation to provide every child with access to a quality education. It is a consensus approach that defines needs – early childhood education, teacher recruitment and retention, mental health and other student support services. It is aimed at helping students succeed -- not spending goals. It’s first what is needed and then what it costs to get the job done. It is Berger who is simply throwing money at education -- $176.5 million in the current state budget through his private school voucher program devoid of accountability as to how that money is used and whether students are learning anything.
BERGER’S SLOGANEERING: “Over the last 12 years and following the simple formula of lower taxes, less regulation, and a commitment to quality education, our state has flourished.”
UNMASKED REALITY: To the degree North Carolina has flourished – and a new
statewide poll casts plenty of doubt on that – has been despite the legislature. There’s been no commitment to quality education and that’s a fact, unfortunately repeatedly affirmed by state Supreme Court under both Democratic and Republican majorities. Let’s also mention the disaster of the 2016 House Bill 2 that
cost the state $3.76 billion lost expanded business opportunities, jobs and revenues. Also, the decade-long refusal to expand Medicaid has cost the $17 billion in federal funds and 118,000 jobs that otherwise would have been created.
BERGER’S SLOGANEERING: “We must provide them with the tools needed to determine their future — from a world-class education to finding a good-paying job in a career of their choice, or to the freedom and opportunity to open their own business.”
UNMASKED REALITY: “World class?” Maybe Berger really means “third-world class.”
North Carolina devotes a mere 2.32% of its GDP to support the public schools -- the lowest percentage in the nation. North Carolina also
ranks 48 in the nation in per-student education funding -- $4,695 below the national average and less than Alabama and Mississippi.
BERGER’S SLOGANEERING: “We’re seeing some promising gains since we passed the Excellent Public Schools Act of 2021 and implemented the science of reading in our elementary school curriculum.”
UNMASKED REALITY: North Carolina fourth grade average math and reading
scores declined based on the first National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test results since the pandemic. Fourth grade
reading scores showed a difference in decline between racial groups. White students' average reading scores decreased by 3 points between 2019 and 2022, while the average scores of Black students and Hispanic students decreased by 10 and 5 points, respectively. The statewide average score decreased by 5 points.
BERGER’S SLOGANEERING: “New residents are fleeing — high taxes, out-of-control government spending, schools that cater to bureaucrats instead of students and parents, and politicians and special interest activists trampling the values that many Americans and North Carolinians still hold dear.”
UNMASKED REALITY: It has been efforts by Berger and the policies he’s promoted that are politicizing and weakening locally elected school boards. They are weakening local control of education by parents and elected school boards and replacing them with legislatively-imposed mandates on what can be taught, now it can be taught and what books students can and cannot read in their libraries.
Witness this week’s action
Senate Bill 49 that limits what teachers can say about sexuality, gender.
BERGER’S SLOGANEERING: “We must come together to ensure that our students can read and have the opportunity for a quality education.”
UNMASKED REALITY – AND SLOGAN: Talk is cheap and so is Berger.
We need our public schools, community college, and university systems to work together to meet the demands of a 21st-century economy. Berger’s sloganeering and failed leadership are roadblocks on that path.
Capitol Broadcasting Company's Opinion Section seeks a broad range of comments and letters to the editor. Our Comments beside each opinion column offer the opportunity to engage in a dialogue about this article.
In addition, we invite you to write a letter to the editor about this or any other opinion articles. Here are some tips on submissions >> SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR 