Public education advocates gathered in Raleigh on Wednesday urging the North Carolina Supreme Court to end its two-year silence on the long-running Leandro school funding case.
The case, first filed in 1994, centers on whether North Carolina is meeting its constitutional obligation to provide students with a sound basic education. Courts have previously ruled the state was failing to meet that standard and must increase school funding.
It has been two years since the state Supreme Court heard arguments in the latest phase of the case, but the justices have not issued a decision.
“30 years is far too long to wait. Two more years is even worse to wait,” said Brooks Fuller of Common Cause North Carolina. “Our students should not have to wait another minute for fair access to the sound basic education that every North Carolinian is entitled to.”
Advocates also criticized the General Assembly, arguing lawmakers have prioritized corporate tax cuts and private school vouchers while North Carolina continues to rank near the bottom nationally in per-pupil school funding.
