Leandro: What is it and why it matters
Leandro, as it is known, is a court case that was launched in 1994 by parents in 5 low-income counties (Hoke, Halifax, Robeson, Vance and Cumberland) against the state of North Carolina alleging that children were not receiving an adequate public school education as required by the state constitution. At the heart of this case is inequity and a sound basic education. It’s about the haves and have-nots, the disproportionate spending in schools particularly when comparing urban and higher income areas of the state with lower income areas. After almost 30 years why isn’t this matter settled? That’s a good question.
Here is a cliff notes version. I have also provided a few links so you can dive deeper into Leandro.
1994: Leandro case filed.
1997: The NC Supreme Court ruled in favor of Leandro and agrees that per our state constitution all students are entitled to a sound basic education and the state was in violation. Case stays entangled in the courts for years.
2002: After a 14 month trial, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ruled that the state (NC) was not providing this sound basic education and ordered every classroom to have a certified teacher and every school to have a well-trained principal, along with necessary & adequate resources to support instructional programs.
2004. This ruling was appealed all the way to the NC Supreme Court where justices upheld the lower court ruling. This was the 2nd time the state supreme court heard the Leandro case and the 2nd time they ruled in favor of Leandro.
Judge Manning heard this case and found that resources, funding, and support of public schools were not being met. For the next decade, appeals were filed and the Leandro case floundered in the courts. It must be noted that during this decade in addition to Judge Manning retiring in 2015, two major events happened; The Great Recession of 2008 and the North Carolina General Assembly went to Republican control in 2010. Not just Republican control, but control by the extremist right-wing known at the time as the Tea Party. This needs to be noted because of their clear disdain for public education and their lack of willingness to govern through negotiation and compromise.
2016: Upon Judge Manning’s retirement a new superior court judge was appointed to handle the Leandro case: Superior Court Judge David Lee.
2017-18: The NC State Attorney General’s office agreed to an independent consultant. Judge David Lee appointed California based business WestEd to review the Leandro case and in 2018 the company offered a report highlighting the problems and offered solutions.
2019: WestEd releases its 300 page report. WestEd Report
2020: Judge Lee signs a consent order. All parties need to agree and develop a plan of action within 60 days.
March 2021. A Comprehensive Leandro Plan was agreed to by the school districts. Comprehensive Leandro Plan
Summary of the Comprehensive Leandro Plan
The plan includes many spending provisions related to recruitment and retention of teachers and administrators, thus ensuring that schools have high quality teachers and principals. Adequate and equitable funding for disadvantaged students & early education (Pre-K) and support for low performing schools.
The biggest items funded were:
- NC Teaching Fellows program
- NC Principal Fellows program
- NC Pre-K program
- Smart Start
- Funding for additional teachers and support staff
- Eliminates the funding caps for students with disabilities and English language learners.
Total cost of the plan is $6.8 billion spread out over eight years.
June 2021: Judge Lee approves the plan and orders the plan into motion. The NCGA does nothing.
November 2021: Judge Lee orders the state (NC) to fund the first two years of the plan through a transfer of state funds totaling $1.7 billion. A court of appeals panel stops the order and the case has now been appealed back to the NC Supreme Court to be heard for the 3rd time.
March 2022: Leandro went back to the NC Supreme Court for the third time. Judge Lee was also removed and replaced with Judge Michael Robinson who ultimately ruled that the state was responsible for funding Leandro, but could not be ordered to do so. It is important to note that Judge Lee was suddenly removed from this case under a cloud of political shenanigans. Those shenanigans are highlighted in this Advocacy Bites podcast on Leandro. Advocacy Bites Podcast: The Latest with the Leandro Case. Also, see link below of WRAL’s coverage.
August 2022: NC Supreme Court hears arguments for the Leandro case for the third time & we are waiting for their ruling.
Once again, the case is floundering in the courts on appeals. No funds have been released to NC public schools and NCGA is still failing to provide all students with a sound, basic education.
Click to watch
WRAL coverage of the removal of Judge Lee
Why should you care about this?
All 115 school districts in NC would benefit from Leandro funding; some more than others. Click here to see How would your school district benefit from Leandro funding
How does this impact Franklin County Schools?
Over the next 8 years, Franklin County Schools would benefit $22.2 million from Leandro funding. $6.8 million for Pre-K/Early Education programs. Break down of Leandro funding for FCS This is money that FC Schools is entitled to and would benefit from, but Phil Berger (NC Senate President Pro Tempore) who presides over the state senate thinks otherwise. He and his team are fighting the release of these funds and are keeping the Leandro case entangled in court on appeals. The republican controlled state legislature has no intentions of honoring these court rulings and no intentions of releasing these funds. Their goal is to keep it in court on appeals through the election of 2022; flip the state supreme court to a republican majority. Once they have control of the supreme court and now that they have a judge of their choice in the lower court (remember Judge Lee was replaced) they will then be able to drive a stake into the heart of Leandro once and for all. The GOP has said that if they take control of the NC Supreme Court they will increase funding for private school vouchers. They will move more public tax dollars to private schools while allowing the state legislature to ignore its constitutional duty to fund public schools.
What can you do?
VOTE in the November election! Think about who you are voting for when it comes to judges (and other candidates too) but particularly to judges. Ask yourself if who you are voting for supports education for ALL! Vote for education not politics!
Advocate locally! Reach out to your district’s representatives in the NCGA, your local Board of Commissioners and Board of Education.
For those that live in Franklin County advocate Franklin County’s representatives in the NCGA to stand in support of releasing these funds and supporting public education. Our representatives for Franklin County right now (October 2022) are
NC House: Matthew Winslow Matthew.Winslow@ncleg.gov 919-715-3032
NC Senate: Sarah Crawford Sarah.Crawford@ncleg.gov 919-733-5850
This will change after the November 8, 2022 election. Winslow is running unopposed so that will not change, however the senate seat will. Depending on the outcome of the election either Mark Speed (D) or Lisa Barnes (R) will assume that senate seat.
Encourage the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and Franklin County Board of Education to pass a resolution supporting the release of the Leandro funds. For a list of counties and districts that have passed resolutions click here Local Government Support for Leandro
Inform your family and friends about Leandro and encourage them to stand in support of releasing Leandro funding.
Use the hashtag #LeadwithLeandro on your social media.
To learn more about Leandro follow these links.
Why is the Leandro Plan Needed?
