Friend,
This week, a panel of experts released their report on North Carolina's compliance with the NC Supreme Court's landmark ruling on
Leandro v. State
. Their finding's are clear:
the State of North Carolina is not providing an adequate and equitable education to its public school students as required by our state constitution.
If you're not familiar with the Leandro case, here's a brief snapshot: In 1994, people from five NC counties filed a lawsuit against the state of North Carolina, claiming that the state was not giving their children “adequate or equal educational opportunities.” In 1997, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Leandro v. State that North Carolina’s children have a fundamental right to the “opportunity to receive a sound basic education" and that
the state of North Carolina, not local school districts, has the ultimate constitutional obligation to deliver every child’s Leandro rights.
The recently released report on the Leandro decision has made clear what we already know—we need to invest more into our public school systems. In fact, many of us in the legislature worked on this issue this year.
Several bills were introduced this session that would help get North Carolina in alignment with the Leandro decision, but House leadership neglected to take these bills up for debate.
- HB 890, Restore Master’s Pay for Certain Teachers – The report described how budget cuts resulted in stagnating salaries that have placed NC far below national benchmarks and teacher salaries in the SE region for most of the last decade. We need qualified and well-prepared teachers in every classroom, so we need to provide incentives that recruit the best of the best and reward our teachers when they strive for excellence.
- HB 948, Funds for Universal Pre-K – The Leandro report recommends expanding services for Smart Start, and it also recommends providing full-day, full-year Pre-K program to all at risk 4 year olds.
To get in alignment with the Leandro decision, we’ll need to much more than what these bills set out to do. But these bills serve to show that my colleagues and I have already introduced legislation that would help get us on the right track. We know what the problem is, and we know how to fix it. Now, we just need legislative leaders who are willing to work with us to get it done.
The General Assembly is taking a break for the holidays and will not reconvene for another month. In the meantime, I hope you have a chance to familiarize yourself with the Leandro Report.
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Please note the office will be closed December 23rd - Jan 1st, but we will still be checking our e-mail in case of emergency. The next newsletter will go out when we return to session.
The new year is finally upon us, and we have a lot of work to do. In the coming days of celebration, I hope that you all have time to fellowship and find community with your families and with those who mean the most to you. Wishing you all safe travels during the coming holiday season!
Sincerely,
Representative Julie von Haefen
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Know Your Electeds Interview
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What's my favorite part of working in the General Assembly? What book am I currently reading? Find out by clicking the link below!
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I'm thrilled to spotlight House District 36 constituent,
Drew Pescaro
(
and his dog Lily)
for working so hard to win a $50,000 grant from
Petco
to help fund
Peak Lab Rescue
in Apex!
"Lily was abandoned before Peak Lab Rescue got her. Then, the small terrier-schnauzer-labrador-shih tzu mutt was adopted last year on Christmas Day by Drew Pescaro. He wanted a dog to help him with his anxiety. His parents told him to look around at other dogs before making a quick decision on Lily, but he already knew she was the one.
Four months later in April, Pescaro was one of six students shot on UNC Charlotte’s campus. He was shot in the back and spent 27 days recovering in the hospital... When Pescaro got out of the hospital and arrived back at his parents’ house in Fuquay-Varina, Lily was waiting on him."
The News and Observer published a wonderful article about Drew's efforts to get more funding for the rescue group where he found Lily.
Peak Lab Rescue is one of only four other organizations to win a $50,000 prize this year from Petco
, and the funds will go far to help them with their efforts to rescue dogs and pair them with local pet owners.
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Thanks to everyone who came out to the NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina event last week! Crisis pregnancy centers are a threat to women’s healthcare because of the false information they spread and threatening tactics they use. NC has used thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to fund them.
WRAL ran a story on the City of Raleigh legal settlement with a local crisis pregnancy center and I was interviewed.
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What a beautiful Community Leaders Nativity Luncheon at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Apex! Thank you for hosting us! The church’s annual Nativity Celebration is a free, family event this weekend and includes hundreds of nativity displays, music, food and more.
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Fuquay Varina Christmas Parade
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I was honored to be a part of the town of Fuquay Varina's Christmas Parade last weekend! There was a great crowd as families lined the streets of downtown to welcome the holiday season!
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So much fun being in the Apex Christmas Parade last weekend! Being part of events like this reminds me of why I love my hometown. Thank you Apex Rotary Club for a fantastic event, as usual. I’ve been coming to this parade for years with my own children, so it was an honor to be
IN
it this year.
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It was also wonderful to see the new Mayor of Apex, Jacques Gilbert, and members of the Apex Town Council.
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District Events
Click the links for more details about each event!
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The NCGA Maintenance Staff works diligently every year to decorate the Legislative Complex for the winter holidays. We were blown away by how they transformed the campus this week!
If you have an extra minute downtown this month, stop by and check it out.
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