Why This Matters
Education is the cornerstone of North Carolina’s future. Every child—regardless of zip code, socioeconomic background, or personal circumstance—deserves access to a high-quality public education that equips them with the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities to thrive in the 21st century. Our public schools must be fully funded, staffed, and supported so that all students can achieve their potential. This policy proposal outlines a comprehensive strategy to ensure equity in school funding, strengthen teacher recruitment and retention, support students’ holistic development, and modernize North Carolina’s public education system.
Here’s What I Plan To Do:
1. Ensuring Equitable Access to Education
Equity in education funding is a moral and economic imperative. Currently, school funding in North Carolina is largely dependent on local tax revenue, which creates disparities between wealthy urban counties and underfunded rural communities. This approach is inherently inequitable: schools in low-tax districts often lack modern infrastructure, up-to-date technology, and sufficient staffing.
Per-Student Funding Equity: All public schools should receive equal funding per student, adjusted for specific needs such as special education, English language learners, and poverty-related support.
Infrastructure Investment: Prioritize modernization of rural and historically underfunded schools, including upgraded HVAC systems, high-speed internet, science labs, and classroom technology.
Targeted Growth Funds: Establish a state-administered fund to support school expansions, STEM labs, and digital learning initiatives in rural and underserved areas.
By leveling the playing field, North Carolina ensures that no child is disadvantaged by geography, and every school has the resources to foster student success.
2. Supporting and Elevating Teachers
Teachers are the heart of our education system, yet North Carolina’s teacher pay has lagged behind the national standard for years. Currently, teachers start at $41,000 annually with a bachelor’s degree, placing the state 43rd nationally. The Living Income Standard (LIS) estimates that a family of four in NC needs approximately $97,500 per year to meet a modest standard of living. Our educators cannot afford this basic standard despite their critical role in shaping future generations.
Raise Teacher Salaries: Implement Governor Josh Stein’s proposed 10.6% pay increase as put forward in his 2025–2027 budget propose. Include a raise cycle that keeps up with inflationary rates.
Reinstate Advanced Degree Pay: Restore pay supplements for Master’s degrees and National Board certification.
Raises Every Year: Ensure that teachers receive a raise every single year. In the current system teachers increase every year till year 15, but then do not receive a raise until they hit 25 years. 10 years of no raise in pay while we know inflation of cost of living puts undue strain on educators outside of the classroom. This is one of the reasons I’ve been told by former teachers that has weighed most heavily on their decision to leave the profession.
Supply Stipend: Provide a $300 tax-deductible stipend for classroom materials, reducing the financial burden on teachers. Teachers should not have to use their take home pay to fill their classrooms, that’s our responsibility.
Professional Development: Expand offerings at the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching, focusing on mental health, STEM, arts infusion, instructional methods, and leadership development. These should be innovative options for teachers to explore new options in which
Teacher Pipelines: Strengthen initiatives like the Teacher Assistants to Teachers Tuition Reimbursement Program to cultivate local talent and retain educators in rural and underserved communities.
Competitive compensation and comprehensive professional support will attract top talent, improve retention, and signal that North Carolina values its teachers as essential professionals.
3. Addressing the Teacher Shortage
Teacher shortages, especially in rural and high-poverty areas, pose a significant threat to educational equity. North Carolina’s teacher attrition rate recently rose to 11.5% per year, driven by low pay, lack of support, and unsustainable workloads.
Regional Pay Competitiveness: Ensure North Carolina’s starting teacher salaries are the highest in the Southeast, making the state an attractive option for educators from across the region.
Enhanced Mentorship: Implement structured mentorship programs for early-career teachers, pairing them with experienced educators for guidance and professional growth.
Workload Management: Reduce class sizes where possible and provide additional teacher assistants, particularly in elementary schools, to allow teachers to focus on instruction.
Mental Health and Wellness Support: Provide accessible mental health resources and wellness programs for teachers, reducing burnout and attrition.
By improving pay, professional support, and working conditions, North Carolina can stabilize its teacher workforce and ensure high-quality instruction for all students.
4. Opposition to Vouchers and Private School Subsidies
I firmly oppose the diversion of public funds to private school vouchers or taxpayer-funded subsidies. Public education is a public good: investments in public schools benefit all children and the community as a whole. Diverting funds to private schools undermines this principle and exacerbates inequities.
Reinvestment in Public Schools: Direct all available funding into improving facilities, hiring qualified staff, and expanding programs in public schools.
Transparency and Accountability: Ensure all public funds allocated to education are used in ways that directly enhance student learning and outcomes.
Investing in public schools ensures that every child has access to quality education, reducing the perceived need for private alternatives.
5. Standardized Testing Reform
Standardized testing is a flawed measure of student learning and teacher effectiveness. While it can provide data, overemphasis on testing often narrows curricula and encourages teaching to the test rather than fostering critical thinking and creativity.
Alternating Elementary and Middle School Testing: Rotate assessments between reading, math, and science to one focus a year to reduce testing fatigue and encourage holistic learning.
Streamlined High School EOCs: Limit End-of-Course exams to one critical test per core subject (Math, Science, History, and English Language Arts) aligned with graduation requirements.
Focus on Formative Assessment: Encourage schools to use in-class assessments, project-based learning, and teacher-designed evaluations to measure understanding and growth.
These reforms prioritize meaningful learning over rote memorization and better reflect students’ true abilities.
6. Inclusion of the Arts: Fine and Performing Arts Education
Arts education—including visual arts, music, theater, and dance—is not a luxury; it is a fundamental component of a well-rounded education that enhances learning across all academic disciplines. Integrating the arts into the K-12 curriculum fosters creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, which directly support mastery of English, history, math, and science.
Studies show students who participate in the arts demonstrate higher standardized test scores in reading, math, and science. For example, students engaged in music and theater often show improved pattern recognition, memory retention, and spatial-temporal reasoning, directly benefiting mathematics and science learning. Historical and cultural arts education strengthens comprehension and engagement in history and civics. Understanding artistic movements and cultural expressions deepens students’ grasp of historical contexts, social studies, and global perspectives. Arts participation also enhances literacy skills; storytelling, scriptwriting, and creative writing in theater and visual arts programs improve reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing proficiency.
Fine and performing arts foster multiple modes of learning, allowing students who struggle in traditional lecture-based environments to access content through kinesthetic, visual, and auditory modalities.
Arts Integration Across Curriculum: Encourage cross-disciplinary instruction where arts are used to teach core subjects, e.g., using music to explore mathematical patterns or historical events through theatrical performances.
Funding and Staffing: Fully fund certified arts teachers in every elementary, middle, and high school. Provide supplies, instruments, and performance spaces for students to explore and showcase their talents.
Professional Development: Offer teacher training programs on integrating arts into other subjects to maximize the educational impact of creative expression.
Equity in Access: Ensure rural and underserved schools receive the same quality of arts instruction as urban districts by providing traveling arts educators, virtual instruction resources, and grants for school-based programs.
By investing in arts education, North Carolina not only nurtures creativity and expression but also strengthens student engagement and learning in core subjects. Students learn to think critically, make connections across disciplines, and retain knowledge more effectively. Arts education transforms classrooms into dynamic learning environments where every student can discover new pathways to understanding complex concepts in English, history, math, and science.
7. Fully Funding School Support Staff
Support staff play a critical role in student well-being, safety, and academic success.
School Nurses: Provide a full-time nurse in every school to address student health needs promptly.
Counselors: Ensure two counselors in every middle and high school: one focused on mental health and social-emotional support, and one dedicated to college and career guidance.
Teacher Assistants: Fully fund teacher assistants in every elementary classroom to improve student outcomes and reduce teacher workload.
School Resource Officers: Provide trained officers in all schools to maintain safe learning environments.
Investing in these positions supports both academic and non-academic factors that influence student success.
8. Inclusive Curriculum
Education should reflect diverse histories and perspectives. Including female focused, African American history, Hispanic American history, and LGBTQ+ perspectives fosters engagement, belonging, and critical thinking. Research demonstrates that culturally relevant teaching improves participation, attendance, and long-term academic achievement. We need to have academics that support our demographics, more than 30% of North Carolina’s population is non-white, and 51% of North Carolina’s population is female.
Culturally Relevant Teaching: Develop curriculum resources that include diverse voices and perspectives.
Teacher Training: Provide professional development on inclusive pedagogy and culturally responsive instruction.
Student Engagement Metrics: Assess classroom engagement and belonging as part of school evaluations.
An inclusive curriculum prepares students to navigate a diverse society and builds empathy, understanding, and intellectual curiosity.
9. Early Childhood Education
High-quality early childhood education lays the foundation for lifelong learning. NC Pre-K programs have demonstrated improved academic readiness, higher high school graduation rates, and increased college attendance.
Universal Pre-K Access: Expand access to every child in North Carolina, regardless of family income.
Quality Standards: Implement state-wide benchmarks for teacher training, curriculum, and facilities in Pre-K programs.
Family Engagement: Offer programs that engage families in early learning to reinforce skills at home.
Investing in Pre-K is one of the most cost-effective strategies to improve long-term student outcomes.
10. Stakeholder Engagement in Education Policy
Teachers, parents, and students all have a role in shaping education policy, but decisions must be informed by expertise and evidence.
Teacher Input: Include educators in policy committees to guide curriculum, assessment, and professional development.
Student Voice: Regularly survey students to understand their experiences and challenges.
Parent Feedback: Incorporate input through structured forums while balancing individual concerns with systemic needs.
A collaborative approach ensures policies are practical, effective, and responsive to the needs of the school community.
Bottom Line
Thomas Monks believes that North Carolina’s education system has the potential to be among the best in the nation. By prioritizing equitable funding, competitive teacher salaries, fully supported staff, inclusive curricula, and high-quality early childhood education, we can ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed. These investments will strengthen public schools, improve student outcomes, and prepare North Carolina’s children to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Thomas Monks, through this proposal reflects a commitment to equity, excellence, and long-term investment in our public schools. By implementing these policies he believes North Carolina can secure an educational system that truly serves all students—regardless of zip code, background, or circumstance.