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Senate Leader Phil Berger Archives - North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools

Aug 28
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Senate Leader Berger announces interim committee assignments at NC General Assembly

By Legislation, News

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) last week announced interim committee appointments for the 2025-26 legislative session.

In his announcement, Senator Berger said:

As we prepare for next year’s legislative session, these committees will get to work examining the most pressing issues facing our state. I look forward to seeing what proposals the committees pursue and working with the members to usher their priorities over the finish line.

Here are the lawmakers assigned to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, according to Senator Berger’s announcement:

Brad Overcash (co-chair), Kevin Corbin (vice chair), Lisa S. Barnes, Danny Earl Britt, Jr., Michael Garrett, Dana Jones, Michael V. Lee, Tom McInnis, Benton G. Sawrey, Gladys A. Robinson, Joyce Waddell

Meanwhile, the Coalition team is already looking ahead to the next legislative session. Last week our full team assembled in Raleigh to discuss recent legislative gains as well as our upcoming legislative agenda.

Read the Coalition’s 2025 legislative agenda from this year. See a Coalition blog post about the accomplishment of key legislative priorities through Senate Bill 254/Session Law 2025-80.

Above: Shutterstock photo.

Jul 03
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Governor Stein vetoes S 254 – Charter School Changes

By Legislation, News

Governor Stein yesterday vetoed Senate Bill 254 – Charter School Changes. As you may know, this legislation includes important provisions–for which the Coalition has advocated–that clarify and strengthen the role of the Charter Schools Review Board. S 254 also includes provisions around charter school flexibility and autonomy. Read more in this Coalition blog post about provisions in S 254.

Following the veto, the Coalition released this statement from Dave Machado, our executive director:

“More than 150,000 North Carolina families now rely on public charter schools to educate their children.

“The success of public charter schools hinges on their flexibility and autonomy. The legislature rightly placed at the front line of charter school regulation and oversight a body of public charter school experts insulated from political maneuverings that have hamstrung the charter sector in other states.

“The Constitution clearly authorizes the legislature to do this. The operative words are literally, ‘subject to laws enacted by the General Assembly.’

“On behalf of the 150,000 families who rely on charter schools, we hope the legislature successfully overrides Gov. Stein’s veto.”

See Dave Machado’s statement here.

Here is what Senate Leader Phil Berger wrote about the veto on X:

“Educational freedom was a hard-won fight in NC. Like @realDonaldTrump, I will never stop fighting for universal school choice.

“Governor Stein’s egregious veto of a bill supporting school choice and charter schools will be overridden in the Senate. Unfortunately, Sam Page opposes the historic school choice reforms we’ve implemented.

“He’d side with Gov. Stein and education bureaucrats on school choice. I side with President Trump and North Carolina families.”

This is what Governor Stein said in his veto of S 254:

“Senate Bill 254 is an unconstitutional infringement on the authority of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Additionally, it weakens accountability of charter schools when every North Carolina student deserves excellent public schools, whether traditional or charter.”

View the press release from Governor Stein’s office here.   

Read more from WFAE, CBS 17 News, Yahoo! News, Carolina Journal and WRAL.

Above: Shutterstock photo.