More than 400 advocates, educators, policymakers, students, and business and government leaders learned more about the most important education issues in North Carolina at the Public School Forum’s 2025 Eggs and Issues breakfast on Tuesday.

The Public School Forum is a nonpartisan, “think-and-do tank” that champions public education. They bring people together “to study education issues, develop ideas, seek consensus, and ultimately inform and shape education policy,” says the website.

“Each of you is here because you believe that local public schools matter,” said Dr. Mary Ann Wolf, president of the Public School Forum. “You believe in our children, our families, our communities, and North Carolina, and we appreciate your partnership in this work.”

What are the Forum’s top four issues?

The organization says investments in these four issues would “ensure that every child in NC has access to a high-quality, equitable education to prepare them for success in life,” according to a press release.

1. Ensure our school funding system is equitable, adequate and flexible to meet students’ unique needs: North Carolina’s low per-student spending, inadequate funding effort, and inequitable distribution of resources — compounded by nearly $1 billion allocated to private school vouchers that often exclude many students — highlight the urgent need for an equitable, adequate, and flexible school funding system to address students’ diverse needs.

2. Make educator pay competitive in North Carolina: North Carolina’s low teacher pay and increasing educator attrition and burnout — driven by inadequate compensation and unstable principal pay — underscore the urgent need to make educator salaries competitive to retain and attract qualified professionals.

3. Address critical needs to support child well-being and success both in and outside of school: The rise in mental health challenges, chronic absenteeism, and lack of access to high-quality out-of-school programs — disproportionately affecting children of color and LGBTQ+ youth in North Carolina — highlights the critical need for comprehensive support systems to promote student well-being and success both in and outside of school.

4. Adopt assessment and accountability policies that are fair and effective: North Carolina’s reliance on flawed school grading formulas, ineffective educator entry exams, and minimal accountability for voucher-funded private schools undermines fair assessment and accountability.

Here is a research brief including the policy action items and background on each issue. Also see the Forum’s 2025 Local School Finance Study.

“The next legislative biennium presents a critical moment to serve and equip our students, their families, and their communities for all that lies ahead as we enter into the second quarter of the 21st century,” said Dr. Lauren Fox, senior director of policy and research at the Public School Forum.

The event featured bright spots from around North Carolina as well as practitioner and policymaker perspectives. Here are some highlights and notable moments from the event.

Bright Spot | WASH clinics in Wilson County

Dr. Ben Williams, an assistant superintendent in Wilson County Schools (WCS), said WASH — the Wilson Area School-Based Health Centers — provides affordable physical and preventative health services to students and staff in all WCS schools.

WASH is a cooperative effort among WCS, the Wilson County Health Department, and the Healthcare Foundation of Wilson. It serves both insured and uninsured patients, and has locations — which include doctor’s-office-style examination rooms — at multiple schools in the district.

“You can be seen for a well-care visit, sick care, physical exams, physical sports visits, health education, nutrition services, laboratory services, and mental health support,” Williams said. “The ability to utilize these medical services in our schools is a tremendous resource to staff, students, and families.”

Bright Spot | Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools students share impact stories

Students Arkyah Moore, Brandon Moore, and Rubi Nunez-Anaya were joined by Superintendent of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools Dr. Keith Parker as they spoke about what their schools and district have meant to them.

All three students are student members of the Board of Education.

“Public schools are the heartbeat of rural communities like mine,” said Arkyah Moore. “They’re not just places where we learn the fundamentals like reading and math. They’re where we build relationships, find mentors, and discover our passions.”

Brandon Moore, a senior at the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Early College, plans to purse a career in health care.

“During my time in high school, I’ve had the privilege of becoming a certified nursing assistant and completing internships in local health care clinics in my community,” he said. “These experiences have shown me the importance of a strong education system that prepares students for careers and success in life.”

Practitioner perspectives on the issues

In a panel discussion, Natalia Mejia, a teacher from Cabarrus County; Dr. C’Monee’ Wilkins, principal of Clarke Elementary School in Vance County; and Dr. Don Phipps, superintendent of Caldwell County Schools, shared their perspectives on the education issues they see as most important.

Students afraid to go to school

Mejia cut right to the chase: her students are scared.

She recounted a student asking her, “Ms. Mejia, if ICE comes to school, can I jump out of the window and run?”

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has been ordered by the Trump administration to arrest and deport more people. A policy that prevented ICE agents from performing arrests in churches, schools, hospitals, and other areas was rolled back.

“Our North Carolina constitution promises all students the right to a fair education,” she said. “And here I am hearing that my students don’t want to come to school. So what do I do? Where does my love go?”

Recruiting and retaining teachers

Both Wilkins and Phipps touched on difficulties attracting and retaining teachers.

Wilkins noted being in a rural county is a challenge in and of itself, especially when neighboring districts have higher teacher supplements.

“How do we make sure that our kids have equitable access to education so that no matter what their zip code is, they have the opportunity to succeed?” she said.

One avenue Phipps is exploring is identifying school staff that aren’t teachers that might have an interest in becoming one.

“We want to make sure that we reach out to them and encourage them to go into professional teaching roles,” he said.

Phipps also highlighted Caldwell County Schools’ mentor program which he suspects is a reason teacher retention has been so good in Caldwell County.

Mental health in schools

As a former school psychologist, Phipps said his community has made strides in serving mental health needs.

“There are very few things that we deal with in the realm of student issues that don’t have a tie some way back to mental health,” Phipps said.

“I always get pushback by some folks in the community who think we’re indoctrinating students. We’re just trying to teach students to have a strong wellbeing and be able to exist in the world that they’re going to live in,” he said. “There’s not a political side to it at all, we’re just taking care of children.”

Mejia emphasized the importance of mental health professionals being able to connect with their students, and the importance of language.

“My students, traditionally, we don’t really have access — Brown and Black communities — to safe places to go and speak about mental health,” she said.

About the need for qualified counselors, she said, “I have a majority of Spanish-speaking students and no one speaks Spanish. How are we going to reach out to these students?”

EdNC will have additional coverage of the bright spots and policymaker perspectives shared at the event.