Earlier this year, Wake County DA ended a five-year investigation into the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ campaign finance scheme to influence Confederate monument legislation. The State Board of Elections found multiple violations, including a felony, but only misdemeanor charges and minimal fines were imposed. Campaign finance watchdog Bob Hall, who filed the initial complaint, criticized the slow investigations and weak outcomes. A 2018 law now keeps campaign finance probes secret, limiting transparency. The SCV’s NC Heritage PAC improperly funneled money, accepted illegal contributions, and falsified reports, but enforcement remains lax. Experts warn current secrecy and underfunding undermine accountability, leaving voters less informed about candidates’ true influences.
by Sarah Michels, Carolina Public Press June 18, 2025
Early this year, the Wake County district attorney quietly ended a five-year campaign finance investigation involving a Sons of Confederate Veterans scheme to gain legislative influence over removal of Confederate monuments.
While the State Board of Elections found violations of multiple campaign finance laws, including one that carries a felony charge, two treasurers of an SCV-affiliated political action committee got off with misdemeanor charges and less than $600 in fines and court fees.
Campaign finance watchdog Bob Hall, who filed the original complaint in January 2020,is used to unsatisfying conclusions. Of the 10 complaints he’s filed since a major campaign finance law change in 2018, most have ended with a negligible fine after years of waiting, even when investigators uncovered wrongdoing.
The SCV case is the only one that’s led to a criminal charge. Hall isn’t exactly counting that as a win.
Before 2018, campaign finance investigations were semi-public. The State Board of Elections was allowed to share some investigation details with reporters and members of the public. The Board conducted public hearings on cases, which allowed candidates to defend themselves and gave investigators a forum to uncover new details from the public.
“I’m sure, for a politician that was accused of wrongdoing, it was also a terrifying process, but it was one that would be much more in line with the values of open government transparency,” said Pate McMichael, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition.
Not anymore. A 2018 law shielded the public from campaign finance investigations from beginning to end. The elections board is no longer allowed to share complaints or investigation details. Hearings are privately conducted, as are newly required State Ethics Commission recommendations and any criminal referrals.
The only way investigation information comes out is if criminal charges are filed, or the person who filed the complaint shares it with the public.
Supporters, like State Rep. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, argue that the secretive process protects candidates from facing negative consequences for being falsely accused of breaking campaign finance law.
But critics like Hall say it only serves wrongdoers.
SCV campaign finance scheme
When controversy arose over whether Confederate monuments and statues should be removed from places of prestige in the mid-2010s, the Sons of Confederate Veterans wanted them to stay put.
That included Silent Sam, a Confederate statue on the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill campus. In 2016, SCV created a political action committee, NC Heritage PAC, to that effect.
Its stated purpose was to “support candidates who support NC’s heritage,” according to campaign finance filings.
While in existence, NC Heritage PAC contributed $35,000 to Republican campaigns, including those of agricultural commissioner Steve Troxler, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and former House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, who is now in Congress.
When protesters toppled Silent Sam in 2018, SCV leaders wanted the statue returned to them.
They sued UNC and got a settlement which would give SCV $2.5 million to preserve and maintain the statue away from UNC’s campuses.
In a leaked email to the group’s members, SCV Commander Kevin Stone celebrated the settlement and outlined attempts to lobby the legislature over the statue issue. A judge, later realizing the settlement was pre-planned, rejected it and made SCV return most of the money.
Finance issues come to light, disappear into dark
The Daily Tar Heel’s reporting on the Silent Sam issue raised several red flags for Hall.
First of all, as a 501(c)(3), the Sons of Confederate Veterans should never have been allowed to create a political action committee, he said.
Second, some money intended for the SCV’s mechanized cavalry was instead funnelled into the NC Heritage PAC by a leader, Hall’s complaint alleged.
Third, SCV leaders allegedly gave members money to donate to the NC Heritage PAC in their name, even though it wasn’t their money. Under North Carolina law, it’s illegal to make a contribution in someone else’s name.
Rogers said SCV leader Bill Starnes gave him $100 and told him to give it to the person collecting donations when they called Rogers’ name.
“So I took it up there, and I thought, that’s weird. What was that about?” he said. “And then they sent me a thing saying I needed to sign it for tax purposes.”
The North Carolina State Board of Elections conducted a campaign finance investigation into the NC Heritage PAC, and found that the political action committee accepted contributions made in the name of another and cash contributions over $50, which carry a misdemeanor charge, according to the complaint closure provided to Carolina Public Press by Hall. They also found that the PAC’s treasurers knowingly signed reports that were not correct, which carries a felony charge.
In June 2021, the elections board referred the case to Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. Nearly four years later, the treasurers pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of accepting cash contributions over $50.
Freeman did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Hall thinks it should have ended differently.
“It was an illegal operation, and the donations should have been returned,” he said.
Campaign finance ‘wild, wild West’
McMichaelwas surprised to see that the SCV investigation took nearly four years to resolve after being criminally referred.
“What complaints are we not hearing about?” McMichael asked.
“How long are those taking to be investigated? And do we really even have a functioning campaign finance apparatus in place in the state, or is it just a wild, wild West?”
While the public doesn’t know the content of campaign finance complaints filed since the law change, CPP received aggregate data from the State Board of Elections.
Since 2019, the board has received 168 campaign finance complaints.
In the same timeframe, 69 complaints have been closed, either because no violation was found, there wasn’t enough evidence to show a violation was intentional or corrective action was taken. Sometimes, the board gets multiple complaints concerning the same issue, which are counted separately.
Hall shared his recent complaints with CPP. Of the 10 filed since the law change, half took longer than two years to resolve.
One campaign finance complaint filed in 2018 and closed in 2020, found that Court of Appeals Judge Phil Berger Jr. failed to disclose who paid for his fundraising events. Berger is the son of the Republican state Senate leader.
Another case involved a slew of errors in Mark Robinson’s lieutenant governor campaign, including more than 100 illegal anonymous contributions totalling nearly $10,000, incomplete or missing info in a third of reviewed expenses and $12,000 in illegal contributions from committees not registered in North Carolina.
Finally, an ongoing campaign finance investigation alleges that a video poker industry group, the NC Coin Operators Association, bundled donor checks illegally between 2019 and 2022 to try to evade contribution limits and PAC reporting requirements, to the tune of $885,000.
Besides Robinson’s $35,000 fine, none of the investigations resulted in more than a warning letter and an order to amend reports with correct information.
“There’s not the resources to conduct an investigation in a timely manner, in a thorough way,” Hall said. “The State Board has been starved for money by the legislature, and the investigative operation for campaign finance issues has suffered and the public has suffered as a result.”
It’s hard to say where exactly the bottleneck is, McMichael said.
“We can’t look at the file and put it in chronological order to see what actions were taken by whom,” he said.
There’s also the issue of bureaucratic discretion, Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper said. The severity of campaign finance violations varies widely, from late reports to widespread fraud, and North Carolina law doesn’t narrowly describe how each should be handled, he said.
That leaves election staff to decide what punishment, if any, is appropriate. This may lead to a lack of clear enforcement, especially when investigators are tasked with determining whether a violation was intentional or accidental.
“There’s no bright red line that tells us when somebody’s making a simple mistake and when somebody is trying to fraud,” Cooper said.
Ultimately, voters pay the price of more secretive campaign finance laws.
Money talks, said Jean-Patrick Grillet, Democracy NC election protection research manager. It can illuminate candidates’ true intentions, and direct their actions when in office, he said. But under the current law, it may be harder for voters to know the decision they’re making when they cast a ballot.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This article presents a critical perspective on North Carolina’s campaign finance enforcement system, emphasizing lack of transparency, minimal penalties for violations, and legislative changes that shield investigations from public scrutiny. It highlights alleged misconduct involving Republican officials and affiliates, such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and prominent GOP leaders, while quoting watchdogs and transparency advocates who express frustration with the current process. Although the reporting is grounded in factual events and public records, the narrative framing and selective focus suggest a Center-Left bias, reflecting concern for accountability, open government, and campaign finance reform.
SUMMARY: The video showed a human skeleton, deeply affecting the family, especially their brother, Evatar, who is critically ill and near death. He’s described as a kind, musical soul who plays guitar, sharing music with the narrator, who plays the piano. The family is devastated, unable to watch the video, but focused on saving him. Doctors say Evatar has only days left and urgently needs food, medical care, and vitamins to survive. Despite his fragile state, his spirit remains unbroken, and both he and his family believe he will recover. The narrator longs for his warm hugs and smile.
ABC News’ Ian Pannell spoke to the brother of Evyatar David, an Israeli hostage seen in footage released by Hamas over the weekend.
Evyatar’s brother, Ilya, says the release of the video “crushed” his family and that doctors say his sibling has only a “few days to live.”
www.thecentersquare.com – By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-08-05 09:57:00
A new charter school in Fayetteville, Agape Achievement Academy, may not open as planned on August 21 after the Charter School Review Board recommended the state Board of Education deny its charter. The school failed to present an acceptable budget despite multiple revisions; its financial projections were deemed incomplete or incorrect. Agape aims to serve grades K-3 with 168 students and emphasizes literacy as key to academic success. The state requires evidence of operational readiness, including a balanced budget, before approval. Agape recently submitted a revised budget showing a surplus, which includes employee contributions to health insurance costs. The final decision is expected soon.
(The Center Square) – A new charter school in Fayetteville may not be able to open as planned later this month following a recommendation by a state school board panel on Monday.
The Charter School Review Board recommended that the state Board of Education not approve a charter for Agape Achievement Academy. It has been scheduled to open Aug. 21.
“Agape has not been able to present an acceptable budget within the required time frame despite a number opportunities,” school board member John Blackburn said Monday following the panel’s review of Agape’s application. “We support that finding,” Blackburn said.
The state school board is expected to issue a final vote on Agape at its meeting later this week.
“Agape Achievement Academy recognizes that a foundation in literacy is crucial to academic achievement in the upper grades and life-long scholarship,” the school says on its website. “We also recognize a foundation in literacy provides students with the strongest likelihood to meet their full potential as students.”
But questions over both enrollment and finances cast doubt on the school’s chances of opening its doors this month.
Agape was scheduled open for grades K-3 with an enrollment of 168, Ashley Baquero, director of the state’s Office of Charter Schools, told the school board panel Monday.
The application for a charter school was originally submitted in 2022.
Before opening, charter schools must first complete a year-long planning program called “Ready to Open,” Baquero said.
Schools must also present evidence of “readiness to operate,” which include proposed budgets that show the school at least breaking even financially, Baquero added.
Agape’s budget projections were either “incorrect or incomplete,” Baquero told the school board panel.
The proposed budget was returned to the school four times for revision, Baquero said.
“The fourth submission of the budget was deemed insufficient,” she said.
On Monday, school officials submitted another revised budget which projects the school having a surplus, William O’Kelly, chairman of the Agape board of directors, told the state board panel Monday. Changes in the new proposed budget include requiring employees to pay 20% of their health insurance costs, saving $19,200 per year.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article provides a straightforward report on the challenges facing Agape Achievement Academy’s charter school application and does not promote a particular ideological stance or viewpoint. It presents factual information about the decision-making process of the state school board, including quotes from board members, details about budget concerns, and procedural requirements for charter schools. The language is neutral and focuses on presenting the sequence of events and official statements without editorializing or using loaded terms that could indicate bias. Thus, the content adheres to neutral, factual reporting by covering the issue without advocating for or against the charter school or any broader political position related to education policy.
Alpha School, an AI-powered private school, is launching K-3 campuses in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, with plans to expand to K-8. Its model replaces traditional teachers with “classroom guides” while students complete core subjects via AI-driven software in personalized, mastery-based learning blocks. The guides focus on social, emotional, and motivational support. Tuition is $45,000 annually. Experts note this approach uses differentiation through AI but caution about data privacy and social-emotional development. Alpha markets strong academic outcomes, though some skepticism remains about access and selection bias. The school may seek to accept state vouchers amid evolving education policies.
by Kate Denning, Carolina Public Press August 5, 2025
Alpha School, an “AI-powered” private school, is preparing to make its mark on Charlotte and Raleigh this year.
North Carolina is part of an expansion into five additional states this fall for the private school company, which currently operates Texas and Florida. It plans to expand into Puerto Rico in 2026.
How does the school operate, and what do education experts have to say about it?
Co-founder MacKenzie Price told Carolina Public Press a typical day at Alpha begins with a 15 minute exercise to get students excited for the day and encourage a growth mindset. These exercises are led by Alpha’s classroom guides — at Alpha, there are no teachers. Then students transition to a two-hour learning block where they split that time between core subjects like math, reading, science and language. This is conducted entirely via AI software and apps.
By lunchtime, students are done with their academic work for the day. The rest of the day is spent learning life skills like leadership, public speaking, financial literacy and entrepreneurship through workshops led by the guides.
Alpha utilizes a mastery-based approach to learning, so children in the same classroom could all be on different levels of the same lesson depending on how each child moves through the material. The AI “tutor” is designed to recognize what each student is grasping well and what they need more work on.
“Let’s say you only need five repetitions of a concept to understand that concept,” Price said. “I teach you a basic lesson on fractions, and then I give you five problems, and you show ‘yeah, I understand this well,’ then you move forward to the next concept.
“But if I need 15 repetitions to understand that, then I shouldn’t only get five or 10. I should be able to get 15. That’s the beauty of personalized learning — each child does have a tutor that is going at their pace.”
Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools Stephanie Keaney said this is a strategy known as differentiation, which teachers have done for decades. But instead of teachers or Alpha’s guides, it’s artificial intelligence.
While students are taught a standard common core curriculum, they aren’t being given traditional grades. K-8 students’ progress is measured three times a year through the Northwest Evaluation Association’s MAP assessment test. High school students’ success is tracked by SAT scores and Advance Placement exams.
The North Carolina campuses each come with a $45,000 price tag and will offer K-3 for the first year of operation with plans to expand to K-8 during its second year. Price said students are already enrolled in Charlotte and Raleigh, and families are eagerly awaiting their first day at Alpha.
Krista Glazewski, the executive director of NC State’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, said there is a long history of AI in the classroom. It’s important to acknowledge the historical use of intelligent tutoring software to not cause confusion and to be clear about some of its limitations, she said.
“Some of the limitations are that they have a narrow area of scope,” Glazewski said. “Intelligent tutoring isn’t always going to be sensitive to the kind of learning that might be happening, so it certainly would not be the only thing that you would want to use in a learning environment.
“Alpha’s not saying that’s their only instructional model. In fact, if I’m bringing my lens to what they’re doing, I think they would argue that they are able to select from some impactful instructional models. … I would say they’re probably choosing the best from different instructional pedagogical models and applying them in some thoughtful and seemingly creative ways.”
Glazewski has been researching AI in education for more than a decade, but she is also a parent herself, so she understands hesitancy and skepticism about using AI for learning.
When implementing more technology into education, she said it’s important to ensure schools are using it thoughtfully to meet specific goals and for the purpose it was intended. Schools should also take steps to ensure student privacy is protected.
“We are now going to have a generation of learners that are going to have metrics and instrumentation about their learning that could follow them throughout their whole schooling career, so we want to make sure that the right day data privacy agreements are in place, that those agreements are held if companies either fold or are reserved into other companies,” Glazewski said.
“We want to make sure that over a child’s life in schooling, that they are not being monitored in a way that parents haven’t consented to and that their information is not being used in ways that, again, parents haven’t consented to.”
As a parent, Glazewski said she would be wondering what the guides are doing to support her child’s social emotional growth, curiosity and development. Price said since the guides are not directly teaching the academics, they are fully dedicated to providing motivational and emotional support to students.
When people hear of AI in education, they often think of robots in front of a classroom teaching students, Price said. But she said the technology actually makes it so this is the opposite of true.
“What artificial intelligence is allowing us to do is create personalized learning programs that meet a student at the level and pace that is best for that student, and it allows our teachers to be able to focus on that emotional and motivational aspect of a student, which is critical to creating a successful learner,” Price said.
“What it’s really enabling is our teachers to be able to do what only humans can do, which is connect with the child and get to know that child and help them develop their interests and growth mindset strategies.”
When it comes to innovation in education, Glazewski said it’s critical to explore promising creative approaches to learning. But that also means asking questions like how can we ensure everyone has access to innovative instructional models, what would this look like if it was implemented on a broader level and what metrics are we basing “promising” models on?
Alpha markets eye-catching statistics like its students’ ability to learn two times as much content in two hours as their peers do and consistently placing in the 99th percentile. Glazewski said parents should consider whether these results are tied to true academic progress or an inherent selection bias that comes along with the school’s hefty tuition.
“At that kind of price point, what we can readily infer is that that’s a very narrow demographic,” Glazewski said. “So I would be interested in the question of selection effects here, whether these outcomes are due to the program itself or the background and the abilities of the learners that they’re admitting.”
Price isn’t yet sure whether Alpha’s North Carolina campuses will be able to collect school vouchers, which have been the subject of controversy after recent changes to North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships. She is personally a fan of school choice, however, and is hopeful Alpha will be able to participate in the program.
It’s possible North Carolina is seeing a rise in new education options like Alpha because of the loosening of restrictions on school vouchers, Glazewski said. Being a private institution also means more freedom to implement innovative approaches and cutting edge technology that would take much longer to approve and fund in public districts.
While every independent school is different and has its own approach, many private schools and educators are leveraging AI to better their classrooms in some way, Keaney said. Because independent schools are consistently smaller than an entire public school district, they have the opportunity to be more nimble and offer more autonomy to teachers in the classroom.
Artificial intelligence sometimes scares people off, but Price said it’s the most exciting development in education right now because of its benefits to both students and teachers and the ability to give back the most valuable resource — time.
“There has never been a more exciting time to be a five year old than now because of what’s going to be available through artificial intelligence,” Price said.
“I also think this is going to be the best era for teachers, because teachers are finally going to be freed up to be able to spend their time doing what they do best, which is connect with students, instead of having to plan time doing lecturing and lesson planning and grading papers and homework. This is a really wonderful time in education.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article presents an informative and balanced overview of the AI-powered private school Alpha School without showing a clear political leaning. It covers the potential benefits of AI in education, such as personalized learning and increased teacher-student interaction, while also addressing concerns like access inequality, data privacy, and skepticism about the use of AI. The discussion of school vouchers is presented with factual context and notes the controversy without endorsing a specific viewpoint. Overall, the coverage is objective and analytical, reflecting a centrist stance focused on education innovation rather than political ideology.
