The NC Parents Against Bullying and Injustice Speaks Out!!!
Editor’s Note: Most of Cleveland County Schools, according to NC Department of Public Instruction’s standardized testing requirements for all on NC’s Public Schools, DO NOT PROVIDE A SOUND BASIC EDUCATION for it’s students. This fact is a clear and total violation of the North Carolina State Constitution as ruled upon by the North Carolina State Supreme Court in the case of Leandro vs. North Carolina. And has been duly and well reported by the US News and World Reports publications. And, ANYBODY, (especially CCS School Board Vice Chairman Aaron Bridges, that says otherwise, for any reason, is a well-documented and foolish Bald-Faced Liar!!!
Note that the following link will take you to the Facebook Page for the NC Parents Against Bullying and Injustice. There you will find the Cleveland County telephone number and other information, including Truism that marks this Facebook Post.
FYI: Per the Public School Forum of North Carolina, this is the latest information regarding the continuing saga of the NC Supreme Court’s rulings on Leandro vs. the State of North Carolina over 30 years of litiation. Note the very last and underlined sentence of this report.
Also note:
- That the Cleveland County School’s Board of Education Meeting held this past Monday, March 10, 2025clearly shows that just throwing money at a problem entirely caused because of a poorly led and foolishly admionistered CC Board of Education, like the CCS BOE, will never-ever result in a good, reasonable and cost effective results.
- Thirty years of the NC Supreme Court requiring Million$ of NC and CC Taxpayers $$$$ at NC Schools (especially Cleveland County Schools) has procuceed nothing but failures upon failures. Even nationwide where the US has gone fron Number 1 in the world in education to Number 43. (Last place!)
The following is in regard to the failed NC Suprememe Court rulings that has thrown more good money on top of badly spent money. Without ever solvingt basic problems. Bad School Board and School District Leadership. Something that the NC Parents against Bullying and Injustice are are trying to correct!!
Leandro vs. State of North Carlina: Backiground & Resources:
 In 1994, five school districts in low-wealth counties along with families filed a lawsuit against the state (Leandro v. State of North Carolina) arguing that their school districts did not have enough money to provide an equal education for their children, despite the fact that they taxed their residents higher than average. Twenty-five years later, the Leandro case remains one of the biggest education policy issues in North Carolina — and those counties — Hoke, Halifax, Robeson, Vance, and Cumberland — which were among the lowest funded in the state, remain toward the bottom of our rankings in terms of their ability to support public schools on a per pupil basis.
Twice the Supreme Court has ruled (1997, 2004) that North Carolina has a constitutional obligation to ensure all children have access to a sound basic education that includes competent and well-trained teachers and principals, as well as equitable access to sufficient resources. Our research, however, has demonstrated that our state continues to fall short to meet that constitutional obligation, as affirmed by the Leandro rulings.
In 2018, Judge Lee ordered WestEd, an independent educational consultant, to recommend ways for the State of North Carolina to comply with the Leandro rulings. On December 10th, 2019, WestEd released their findings and a sequenced action plan to meet the State’s constitutional obligation. Read our full statement about their report here.
“Because the North Carolina Constitution expressly states that units of local governments with financial responsibility for public education may provide additional funding about their doing so or in any inequality of opportunity occurring as a result… Clearly then, a county with greater financial resources will be able to supplement its programs to a greater degree than less wealthy counties, resulting in enhanced educational opportunity for its students.” –Leandro v. State, 488 S.E.2d 249 (N.C. 1997)
Since 2018, parties to the Leandro case have developed a comprehensive, 8-year remedial plan identifying targeted investments in public education that North Carolina must make in order to ensure all children have access to a sound basic education. In 2021, Judge Lee ordered defendants in the Leandro case to take action to implement the remedial plan. However, Judge Lee’s order was appealed.
In March 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the Leandro case after the case was returned to the superior court to account for a state budget passed in late 2021. Judge Lee was also replaced at this time with Judge Michael Robinson who ultimately ruled that the state was responsible to fund the comprehensive remedial plan but could not be ordered to do so. Judge Robinson found that the General Assembly underfunded the Comprehensive Remedial Plan by $785 million based on the 2021-22 budget.
In August 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court heard the case for the fourth time. On November 4, 2022 the Supreme Court issued a ruling upholding our State Constitution and the rights of our children, families, and communities. The majority opinion states: “This Court has long recognized that our Constitution empowers the judicial branch with inherent authority to address constitutional violations through equitable remedies. For twenty-five years, the judiciary has deferred to the executive and legislative branches to implement a comprehensive solution to this ongoing constitutional violation. Today, that deference expires. If this Court is to fulfill its own constitutional obligations, it can no longer patiently wait for the day, year, or decade when the State gets around to acting on its constitutional duty ‘to guard and maintain’ the constitutional rights of North Carolina schoolchildren.”
A State at Risk: Critical Investments in North Carolina’s Public Schools Are Urgently Needed to Ensure Each Child Receives a Sound Basic Education
December 11, 2019 by Elizabeth Paul
RALEIGH, N.C. (December 11, 2019) — As North Carolina has reduced its commitment over the past decade to fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide each and every child a sound basic education, the Public School Forum of NC looks forward to partnering with other public education supporters to set our great state on a new path toward realizing the transformational goals and outcomes contained in an expansive new action plan for our public schools.
Court-ordered by Leandro Judge David Lee and published by the independent research organization WestEd, “Sound Basic Education for All: An Action Plan for North Carolina,” details the steps our state’s leaders must take to ensure that our system of public schools offers an equal opportunity to every young North Carolinian, especially those in our highest-need communities, with a sound basic education, as is mandated in our state constitution and affirmed in the landmark state Supreme Court decision, Leandro v. the State of North Carolina (1997 and 2004).
“We know that in order to become a globally competitive, economically strong state, each and every one of our children needs equitable access to a strong system of public schools, regardless of their geographic or economic background,” said Public School Forum Interim President and Executive Director Dr. Michael D. Priddy. “The challenge of providing these opportunities is great and has only grown with time—and our state leadership has failed to meet its constitutional obligation. We are fortunate to have this new evidence-based action plan in place to provide a way forward so that we can successfully support our system of public schools. Without a renewed commitment to action, our children — and the future of our state — are at risk.”
The WestEd Report identifies eight critical needs that the state must address to ensure each and every child in North Carolina receives a sound basic education. The report also includes a series of recommendations and a sequenced action plan that addresses how to effectively increase support for high-poverty schools, how to strengthen our access to high quality early childhood education, and a way forward in revising the state’s school funding model to better distribute adequate, efficient and equitable resources, among many other key recommendations.
The report also highlights what the Forum has documented through its annual Local School Finance Study over the past 30 years- there is a widening gap in funding and opportunity between the state’s lowest wealth and higher wealth school districts. Our most recent study found that the local spending gap between the top ten spending counties and bottom ten spending counties has grown from $1,094 per student in 1997 to $2,445 per student in 2017. Supplemental funding for low-wealth and small counties has helped—but this research confirms that it is woefully insufficient. WestEd rightfully points to the need to address inequities by targeting additional funding and support for our most economically disadvantaged schools.
North Carolina saw substantial progress in student achievement in the 1990s during a period of increased investment in public education. The WestEd researchers note that reductions in funding that started during the 2008 recession and have deepened in recent years are tied to widening achievement gaps and overall declines in student achievement as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
“As is noted in the WestEd report, the economic imperative to act on the recommendations laid out before us cannot be overstated,” said Public School Forum Chairman of the Board, Dr. Tom Williams. “The ambitious goal of enabling two million 25- through 44-year-olds to obtain a high-quality postsecondary credential or degree by 2030 that the MyFutureNC Commission calls on us to achieve will not be possible without a renewed, systematic commitment to our public education system. We are excited to dig into the contents of the WestEd report and urgently move our state toward the constitutional, moral and economic obligation to provide all students with a sound basic education.”
For some background on the history of the Leandro school funding case, click here.
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About Leandro and WestEd
In 1994, five low-wealth school districts sued the state of North Carolina, arguing that students in these districts had been denied their right to an adequate education. Although the NC Supreme Court held in 1997 that the state constitution gives all NC students the right to a “sound, basic education,” they also found in 2004 that in some cases, students were being denied that right. In 2017, the plaintiffs continued to argue that the State continued to deny this right to students in low-wealth counties. As a result, Judge David Lee appointed WestEd, an independent consultant, to recommend ways for North Carolina to comply with the initial Leandro ruling.
About the Public School Forum of North Carolina
Since 1986, the Public School Forum of North Carolina has been an indispensable and nonpartisan champion of public schools and the most trusted source in the state for research and analysis on vital education issues. We bring together leaders from business, education and government to study education issues, develop ideas, seek consensus, and ultimately inform and shape education policy. We do that through research, policy work, innovative programs, advocacy, and continuing education for educators and policymakers. Follow us on Twitter @theNCForum and visit our website at ncforum.local.
Editor’s Note: Folks, Stay Tuned for Robert A’s report on the March 10, 2025 CCS School Board Meeting. YOU will clearly hear the sounds of protest from the audience regarding Constitutional Issues and hear about the CCSA School Board voting unanimously to purchase a brand-new School Bus for $155,555.00 that was absolutely NOT NEEDED!!! You will also hear About School Board Vice-Chairman Aaron Bridges and Chairman Joel Shores make absolute fools of themselves by trying to blame teachers for the lack of good teaching methods instead of laying the blame on them well documented selves for the failures of an education. Shame, Shame and Shame again on YOU, Aaron Bridges and Joel Shores.
The very best thing for Cleveland County Schools educational functionality
is for Shores and Bridges to resign immediately from the CCS School Board!!! And Walter Scott Spurling, Ron Humphries, Gloria Sherman and Stephen Fisher too!
 Also, thanks to all you “protesters” that showed up for the March 10, 2025 CCS School Board Meeting and showed your interest in cleaning up mistakes wherever you find them. Hopefully all y’all “protesters” will continue your efforts to support cleaning up the messes at CCS. Wherever they may be.