NC House Dems Push Leandro School Funding Bill

0:00It's April 22nd. This is Durham News today, your AI-powered local news. North Carolina House Democrats jumped right into the short session this week with a bold move on school funding. Rep, Julie von Heifen from Wake County Fout House Bill 1017, her seventh try to pop money into the Leandro plan for public schools. This comes Hot Office State Supreme Court ruling that flipped a 2022 decision, saying judges can't force lawmakers to spend that cash. The Leandro case started years back, claiming the state wasn't delivering a sound basic education to every kid, as required by the Constitution. Back in 2022, the court partly backed the big funding fix, but a new majority reverted and shut that down this month, kicking the ball. Back to the legislature, with no more excuses. Folks are fired up, from teachers to parents rallying outside the state house. Von Heifen called out the court's dodge, and the majority's stonewalling, while educators like award-winning teachers, vents about patchwork funding, and classrooms scraping by.

1:05No full-state budget since October 2023 means teacher pay lags inflation, and costs keep climbing with 320,000. New residents. Her 47-page bill pushes teacher salary bumps, loan forgiveness for new educators, and extra cash for low-wealth counties, hit hard in Leandro. Mass versions got buried in the wrong committees, never even debated, but she's pushing for education committees this time to spark real talk. With rallies brewing from groups like the North Carolina Association of Educators and steady pressure from families, the fights far from. Over lawmakers now own it fully, and public voices might just tip the scales.