2022 Spotlight On Series: Federal COVID Relief Funding for North Carolina Schools Since March 2020, the United States government has provided nearly $337 billion in pandemic-related aid to be used to support the education of students across the country in preschool through higher education. North Carolina was allocated $9.4 billion in education funding through three separate federal laws. Note: The data in this post has been updated since the original release of this Spotlight On in Spring 2022. Ninety percent of ESSER funds, the largest packages for K-12 public schools, were delivered directly to public school units (PSUs) following the federal Title I funding formula, and PSUs have discretion over these funds, within limitations provided in federal law. Schools with higher percentages of economically disadvantaged students received more COVID relief funding, per student, than wealthier districts. COVID-19 funding ranged from $1,700 per pupil in Chapel-Hill Carrboro City Schools to $14,825 per pupil in Weldon City Schools. As of August 31, 2022, 48% of the $5.9 billion provided to PK-12 public schools for COVID-19 relief had been spent; and PSU’s have spent 97% of dollars allocated through funding streams that have expired or are expiring soon (see Figure 2). PSU spending trends have shifted as school and student needs have become clearer (see our Student Learning During the Pandemic blog post). For instance, money appropriated via Coronavirus Relief Fund in early 2020 was used primarily to help schools transition to remote education at the outset of the pandemic. Funding was heavily invested in supplies and materials, including personal protective equipment, computers for remote learning, and materials to support the delivery of school meals. Subsequent funding streams have been increasingly utilized to support students’ academic needs, including hiring additional teachers and staff, as well as providing funds for tutoring and summer programming. AND THERE’S MORE To learn more about COVID relief funding for North Carolina’s schools, and to view DPI’s visualizations of COVID fund allotments and expenditures, check out these links: NC DPI’s COVID Relief Funding Allotment and Expenditure Dashboard NC DPI’s COVID Relief Funding Website NC DPI’s Financial and Business Services COVID Funding Summary Presentation
Don Curtis Interview with Brenda Berg – Carolina Newsmakers
Classroom Teacher Allotments North Carolina Public Schools
Note: This blog post features a brief from page 22 of our 2018 Facts & Figures publication, contextualizing North Carolina education data with a short description of an historical feature or a critical issue in North Carolina. Read more at www.NCEdFacts.org. In North Carolina, the state allots teaching positions to each school district based on the number of students in each grade, according to specific ratios set by the General Assembly. The classroom teacher allotment is by far the largest single state allotment; salary and benefits for teaching positions represent approximately 55% of total state support for education. Over the past seven years, the state changed allotment ratios four times, generally decreasing student to teacher ratios in the lower grades, and increasing them in grades 4 through 12. Source: NC DPI Highlights of the Public School Budget In 2016, the General Assembly enacted legislation requiring actual average student to teacher ratios in grades K-3 not to exceed the allotment ratios starting in the 2018-19 academic year. This has sparked considerable debate, in part because for the first time since the development of the state’s Basic Educational Program, districts will be required to use the state’s full position allotment to fund classroom teachers. Currently, there is no separate allotment for elementary school art, music, physical education, and world language teachers.
North Carolina Teachers and State Employee Retirement System and Health Benefits
Note: This blog post features a brief from page 26 of our 2018 Facts & Figures publication, contextualizing North Carolina education data with a short description of an historical feature or a critical issue in North Carolina. Read more and find further information at www.NCEdFacts.org. All full-time employees in North Carolina public schools participate in the state’s Teachers and State Employees Retirement System (TSERS). TSERS provides qualifying employees a guaranteed salary and individual health benefits upon retirement from state government. In North Carolina, employees vest in TSERS after five years of service. Employees may retire with unreduced benefits after 30 years at any age, after 25 years of service at age 60 or older, or after five years at age 65 or older. Teachers contribute 6% of their pre-tax salary to TSERS, a rate that has been consistent since 1975. Nearly all states maintain a defined benefit (pension) plan for teachers and other state employees; in North Carolina and 29 other states, all teachers also participate in social security. TSERS is roughly comparable to the national median state plan and significantly more generous than the private sector average. Retiree health benefits in North Carolina are significantly more generous than the national median state plan and the private sector. Active state employee premiums for individual health care coverage are more generous than most other state plans and the private sector, but less generous than average for family plans. Source: North Carolina TSERS Handbook, NCGA Fiscal Research Division – Comparison of the Value of Employee Benefits
K-12 Education Finance in North Carolina
Note: This blog post features a brief from page 42 of our 2018 Facts & Figures publication, contextualizing North Carolina education data with a short description of an historical feature or a critical issue in North Carolina. Read more at www.NCEdFacts.org. In North Carolina and nationwide, public education is financed through federal, state, and local expenditures. Nearly two-thirds of total K-12 public education funding in North Carolina comes from the state through position, dollar and category allotments (such as allotments for teachers, principals, teacher assistants, textbooks, classroom materials, and transportation). Districts received additional funding from the state based on student learning needs (such as for children with disabilities, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students). The state also provides supplemental funding to low-wealth counties (68 across the state) and small counties (27). Combining state funding allotments, a first grade student with no special learning needs would receive $5,861 in state funding; an economically disadvantaged first grade student with limited English proficiency and special learning needs in a small, low-wealth county would receive $17,279 in state education funding. Roughly 11% of K-12 public education funding in North Carolina comes from the Federal government. Federal funds mainly support child nutrition, students with disabilities, and students from low-income households. Source: NC DPI 2017 Highlights of the Public School Budget K-12 Education Finance In addition to state and federal funds, local North Carolina counties provide additional funding to supplement state support for K-12 school operations; and provide funds to build, furnish, and maintain K-12 school buildings. Local dollars fund nearly 28,000 positions in K-12 public schools, including 7,315 service workers, 6,313 teachers, 1,937 teacher assistants, and 756 assistant principals across the state. Local funds for school operations range from $849 per pupil in Robeson County to $6,151 in Chapel-Hill/Carrboro City Schools. Source: NC DPI Annual Expenditure Report by LEA
Principal Pay in North Carolina
Note: This blog post features a brief from page 30 of our 2018 Facts & Figures publication, contextualizing North Carolina education data with a short description of an historical feature or a critical issue in North Carolina. Read more at www.NCEdFacts.org. In recent years, principal pay in North Carolina ranked last in the Southeast and near the bottom nationally. In 2017, the North Carolina General Assembly transformed the state salary schedule for principals with an investment of $24M, or an average raise of approximately nine percent. The previous statewide schedule was based on each principals’ years of experience, level of education, and the number of teachers in the school they led. Annual state-funded pay ranged from $52,656 to $111,984, with an average of $64,416 in 2017. The updated schedule is based on the size of the school and the principal’s growth status (derived from students’ performance on standardized End-of-Course and End-of-Grade exams). Principals are also eligible for two stackable bonuses based on their school-level growth scores and school performance grades: Source: North Carolina General Assembly – 2017 Appropriations Act
BEST NC Delivers a Little Guide, Chock-full of Education Data
BEST NC releases the 2017 Facts & Figures: Education in North Carolina guide, a composite of current education data from cradle through career.