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enrollment growth funding Archives - North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools

Dec 09
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DPI releases enrollment growth funding

By News

Last week, the Department of Public Instruction released public school growth funding allotments for the 2025-26 academic year. Charter schools should have received an allotment covering their full enrollment growth.

The Coalition is very pleased about this development, especially as it is the direct result of our advocacy efforts. In 2024, the Coalition worked to secure charter enrollment growth funding in a contingency reserve, on a recurrent basis. This was a huge legislative win.

A brief history follows below, especially for school leaders who may not be familiar with Coalition advocacy efforts and timeline in this area.

History of House Bill 10 and Coalition Advocacy

In Summer 2024, it became clear that the legislature was unlikely to pass a budget. While this had financial implications for numerous things, the Coalition was particularly concerned about public charter schools with enrollment growth. These schools, we knew–along with district schools–would not be funded for growth without a state budget, given the shift to a “funding in arrears” model.

Coalition leadership and lobbyists moved quickly to reach out to lawmakers, engaging them in a concerted push to pass legislation with growth funding as a line item. Growth funding was first placed in a bill, House Bill 10, on September 9, 2024. Lawmakers passed House Bill 10 quickly, sending it to Governor Cooper on September 11. However, he vetoed the bill on September 20, objecting to another bill provision. In November 2024, the House and Senate voted to override his veto, and the bill became law.

View the 2024 statement from the Coalition, thanking lawmakers for enacting House Bill 10 into law. Within three weeks of lawmakers’ vote to override the Governor’s veto of House Bill 10 in 2024, DPI had released growth funding for charter schools. Read more about our advocacy in this Coalition blog post or view House Bill 10/Session Law 2024-55.

We are pleased enrollment growth funding has been released to charter schools again this year! This kind of advocacy represents exactly why the Coalition exists, as we work to protect and promote public charter schools in North Carolina.

Sep 12
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Lawmakers pass enrollment growth funding for charter schools

By Legislation, News

North Carolina lawmakers this week approved a mini-budget bill with much-needed funds for growing public schools, including charters. The measure, House Bill 10, includes $95 million in recurring funding for K-12 enrollment growth, among other things. The Senate passed the bill on Monday, and the House approved it yesterday.

Why is this funding necessary? This year, the state moved to a new funding model (“funding in arrears”) which pays schools based on last year’s enrollment. Enrollment growth is to be covered by a contingency reserve.

EdNC explains:

In 2023, lawmakers also enacted a new funding in arrears model for K-12 public schools. This means funding is now based on the previous year’s enrollment, rather than projections. Lawmakers and officials from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) have said this model gives more budget certainty to schools.

However, the new enrollment growth account balance only has $2.5 million it it, [House Speaker Tim] Moore said in a press release this week, “less than 5% of expected funding necessary to meet the needs of K-12 enrollment growth for this year.”

“Therefore, the mini budget allocates $95 million to meet this critical need for our growing public schools,” Moore said.

Like most bills, House Bill 10 includes a variety of provisions. In addition to funding public K-12 enrollment growth, the bill also provides additional funds for community colleges and the Opportunity Scholarship Program, and includes other components.

Now, the governor can sign or veto it–or allow the bill to become law in 10 days by not taking any action. The Coalition has urged the governor to allow the bill to become law.

In a press release distributed Tuesday before the House vote, Lindalyn Kakadelis, the Coalition’s executive director, said:

Thank you to state lawmakers for coming together to propose enrollment growth funding at traditional and charter schools. Our member schools have reached out to us with great anxiety in recent weeks, because without this funding they may soon face a liquidity crisis. We respectfully urge lawmakers and the governor to ensure this funding is enacted into law.

Read more about the measure in the Charlotte Observer and EdNC.

Above: Shutterstock photo.