North Carolina may be in the bottom five in the nation when it comes to education funding, but it sounds like Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson won’t be content until we are dead last in all the rankings.
North Carolinians, local school boards and education advocates have pushed back against state Republicans Don’t Say Gay law, also known as Parents’ Bill of Rights.
State Representative Tricia Cotham, who in April gave Republicans a supermajority in the legislature by switching parties from Democrat to Republican, will run for reelection next fall in the newly redrawn House District 105 in southern Mecklenburg County.
North Carolina legislative Republicans overrode 19 of Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes during this year’s session but the fight over some of these laws is far from over due to lawsuits that have been filed and others that will be filed soon.
A Cabarrus County Commissioner announced in October that he was quitting the North Carolina Republican Party and changing his affiliation to unaffiliated due to the party’s thirst for power and nothing else, he said in a video, The Charlotte Observer reported.
As a recent News & Observer editorial highlights, Republicans have relied on a strategic plan to dismantle democracy for decades. In North Carolina, Republicans have worked endlessly to disenfranchise voters across the state, with one judge ruling that an NCGOP voter ID law targeted “African-Americans with almost surgical precision” — making it harder for Black North Carolinians to vote.
Several school districts are still weighing in on the implementation of Parents’ Bill of Rights, also known as North Carolina’s Don’t Say Gay law. While school officials across the state work on policy revisions, North Carolinians and local groups are condemning the enforcement of the controversial law.
On the same day North Carolina Republicans finally approved a state budget (after delaying it for 80+ days), they also passed legislation that strips authority from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
The Alamance-Burlington School System had to delay the start of the school year two times due to toxic mold present in at least 25 of its 37 schools.
The state is closing in on another month with a budget. Last week, Gov. Roy Cooper underscored the impact of yet another delay – urging state Republicans to pass the state budget, which would close the healthcare coverage gap for many and give raises to thousands of North Carolinians.