NC’s biggest school districts keep proving their critics right | Opinion
Decades before the Declaration of Independence, a middle-aged Benjamin Franklin penned a short essay titled “Advice to a Young Tradesman.” It is best remembered for the adage “time is money,” but Franklin had plenty to say about earning the confidence of the people supplying it.
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A creditor who heard your hammer at five in the morning or nine at night could rest easier about the money you owed him, the Founding Father wrote. Should he hear your voice at the tavern when you should have been working, though, and he might demand repayment the next day.
The point was that people notice what you do with the resources entrusted to you. So work diligently, honor your obligations and give them reason to believe their money is in good hands.
“It makes you appear a careful as well as an honest man, and that still increases your credit,” as Franklin put it.
That advice has held up for nearly three centuries. North Carolina’s school districts would do well to heed it.
Our education debate has for years revolved around whether the state spends enough money on public schools. I think North Carolina likely should invest more, but I also can’t blame the General Assembly for being hesitant.
The biggest obstacle to securing more money for public education, in my view, is a lack of trust in how it will be used. School leaders cannot expect their needs to speak louder than their record.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is the latest example. Days after the district attorney requested an SBI investigation into potential financial wrongdoing, the board abruptly fired its superintendent. The public got another leadership upheaval when it needed answers. Don’t get me wrong: I find no satisfaction in watching school leaders prove their critics right. Students lose when money is poorly managed, and they lose again when that mismanagement weakens the case for investing in their classrooms.
On Tuesday, the CMS board without cause, just weeks after reinstating her following a summer investigation. The baffling reversal came with little explanation.
Stephanie Sneed stepped down as chair but remained on the board and voted to dismiss Hill. Facing questions about district contracts, Sneed chided the public over the “frenzy” surrounding the controversy, seemingly oblivious to the board’s role in creating it.
Hill had alleged that Sneed directed district money to former CMS executive Raki McGregor through contracts with an outside law firm. Those financial questions remain unresolved.
Board member Charlitta Hatch called for a leadership reset. What taxpayers needed was an explanation. They still do. CMS is hardly alone. In Winston-Salem-Forsyth County, an estimated $46 million deficit prompted scrutiny that uncovered basic accounting failures. A found that roughly $15 million in expenses were kept “off the books.”
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Then there is Wake County, where HVAC problems are again causing parents to keep students out of the classroom. The district reports a maintenance backlog of tens of millions of dollars, despite some $434 million in COVID-related spending that the state claimed would go to HVAC improvements. Instead, nearly $330 million of it on salaries and benefits, according to state records.
Taken together, these episodes leave school leaders with a serious credibility problem that will need to be repaired before expecting a large investment from the state.
The General Assembly is often portrayed as hostile to public education, unwilling to give schools what they need to succeed. I don’t think that is entirely fair.
There are plenty of Republicans who want to invest more in public education, particularly teacher pay. But they also want reasonable assurance that the people responsible for spending taxpayer money will exercise good judgment. School leaders should recognize that as a legitimate expectation.
Instead, we typically only get finger pointing and complaints. I get it: Blaming Republicans is much more politically rewarding. It rallies supporters and puts responsibility for every unmet need somewhere else. But winning that argument with people who already agree does little for the students whose schools need a working relationship with Raleigh.
School leaders ought to be able to demonstrate that they treat taxpayer money as a scarce and precious resource. With enrollment declining across most North Carolina districts, that obligation becomes even more important. Asking for more money while serving fewer students requires a persuasive explanation of what schools need and how they are adjusting their spending.
I want lawmakers to invest more in teacher pay. Public education is too important to our state’s future for us to be satisfied with where we are. But the leaders making that request need to give legislators something to work with. Every unexplained expense makes it harder to argue for the necessary ones.
Franklin understood that frugality could make greater investment possible. A tradesman who took care with the money he had earned the confidence to obtain more.
“In short, the way to wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality; that is, waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both.”
School leaders cannot control how much Raleigh gives them. They can give Raleigh fewer reasons to say no.
Contributing columnist Andrew Dunn is the publisher of the Longleaf Politics newsletter, which offers thoughtful analysis of North Carolina politics and policy from a conservative perspective. He can be reached at [email protected].
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This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 12:14 PM.
