Speaking truth to power fosters positive change in our community, state, and nation. Pat Bullard’s letter speaks to the Leandro case and the General Assembly’s continuing delay to fund public education in NC.

Finally a court responded to Leandro, a long-standing case seeking more adequate funding for public education. Sadly, this badly needed funding for public education is again put on hold.

I have watched moves for more adequately funding public schools for a long time, including BEP, etc. Instead the GOP-controlled General Assembly has shifted most of education funding to charter, private and religious schools while starving public education. Such schools do not have adequate monitoring and accountability, taking away funding from public education, the only equal education opportunity with accountability.

With the court decision that Leandro must be funded, this year’s GOP led legislature could have responded with the reserves in place, but it did not. Now an appeal has stopped the action to fund Leandro from North Carolina’s reserves.

Will the continued starvation of public education be the death of it? Our children and the future depend on equal education opportunities.

Pat Bullard