www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-23 08:01:00
(The Center Square) – Federal funding is 10.9% of the state’s budget for public schools, says North Carolina’s education superintendent, meaning the pending closure of the U.S. Department of Education will impact thousands of educators and students in the nation’s ninth largest state.
With about 1.5 million schoolchildren and more than 90,000 educators, the Department of Public Instruction overseen by Superintendent Mo Green has about 7.6% of the education workforce helped by federal money.
“The federal government provides over $1 billion to support public school students, including services for students with disabilities, children from low-income families and Career and Technical Education programs,” said Green, a first-term Democrat elected Nov. 5. “Those federal dollars fund more than 14,000 teacher and other educator positions across the state.”
Linda McMahon, the North Carolina native, East Carolina graduate and pick to lead the Department of Education by President Donald Trump, indicated in a network interview and on social media the best outcome for children can be achieved.
“We’re spending more money per pupil than any country in the world and we’re seeing less results,” McMahon said. “That’s a clear indicator we’re not doing the best thing we can do for our students.
“Let the states tailor education to local communities – and get results. Let parents choose the best educational fit for their children. Let teachers teach.”
McMahon said for every federal dollar, 47 cents goes to regulatory compliance.
Spending on education was the largest share of the last state budget at $17.9 billion for 2024-25, and $17.3 billion for 2023-24 of the $60.7 billion two-year plan.
Whereas state leaders have said teachers are leaving North Carolina because of pay, McMahon said it’s the bogging down of regulation that is causing teachers to leave the profession across the country.
“Today’s executive order from President Trump,” said Donald Bryson, CEO of the conservative leaning Locke Foundation in Raleigh, “signifies a deliberate attempt to restore educational authority to the states and eliminate a federal bureaucracy that has long burdened local school systems with costly and unnecessary mandates. Education is, at its core, a state and local responsibility, and North Carolina is more than capable of determining how best to educate its students without interference from Washington.”
Green said he is hopeful this and all executive branch orders will not disrupt operations.
“While I fully acknowledge that this executive order, especially when coupled with other federal pronouncements and actions impacting public education, is unsettling, my commitment to North Carolina’s 1.5 million students remains unwavering,” Green said. “I am confident that by working together – educators, families, communities and policymakers – we will continue advancing educational excellence for every student in our state.”
SUMMARY: North Carolina, ranked Top State for Business in 2025 by CNBC, fares poorly in Oxfam America’s Best States to Work Index, placing 52nd due to low wages and weak worker protections. The state’s minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25 since 2009, covering only 18% of living costs for a family of four, far below Virginia’s $12.41. North Carolina also lacks paid family and medical leave, heat safety standards, and fair scheduling. “Right-to-work” laws limit union support, harming worker organizing. Women, especially women of color, face economic disparities, childcare burdens, and low preschool enrollment rates. Experts urge raising wages and mandating paid leave to improve conditions.
SUMMARY: During Labor Day weekend, with the Powerball jackpot at $1 billion, many gathered at a Knightdale gas station to buy tickets and share their dreams. Some, like Kitty and Phil, are confident, having spent significant amounts on tickets, believing their luck will pay off. Others, like Peggy, play just for the fun of dreaming. Most expressed generous intentions, planning to donate to charities and support family. While the enormity of $1 billion is hard to grasp, participants enjoyed imagining the possibilities. When asked about sharing winnings, Phil humorously promised $10,000 to the reporters, highlighting the excitement and hope surrounding the jackpot.
On Labor Day weekend, customers lined up for a chance at the life-changing prize. Some shared how they would do with the $1 billion if they won the Powerball jackpot.
FEMA canceled over $200 million in flood-mitigation grants through the BRIC program, leaving 72 North Carolina communities, including Forest City, in limbo. The program funded critical infrastructure projects to protect against flooding, but was terminated by the Department of Homeland Security, citing inefficiency. Bipartisan lawmakers urged reversal, and North Carolina joined a multi-state lawsuit claiming the cancellation was illegal. A federal judge temporarily blocked FEMA from reallocating BRIC funds. Some projects, like Princeville’s, continue with obligated funds, while others seek alternative funding. Local officials express frustration as political decisions in Washington stall essential community resilience efforts.
by Lucas Thomae, Carolina Public Press August 29, 2025
Dozens of North Carolina communities are in limbo after FEMA canceled more than $200 million worth of grants for flood-mitigation projects earlier this year in the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant program, also known as BRIC.
For Forest City in Rutherford County, the now defunct grant program was meant to be a safety net. Flooding along the Second Broad River exposed the area’s vulnerability to heavy rainfall five years ago, when rising water smashed debris into a main line and cut off running water to Forest City and the nearby towns of Ellenboro and Bostic.
Repair work following the storm revealed more problems.
Erosion along the river left Forest City’s sewer system and raw water intake at risk of flood damage, but the town didn’t have the money to fix it. Federal emergency management officials told town officials that they would be a good fit for a new grant program aimed at pre-disaster mitigation.
Through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant program, FEMA awarded Forest City $2.6 million for improvements to the town’s water and sewer systems. The project was well into the planning and design process when the federal government revoked the grant.
FEMA announced the end of the BRIC program and canceled all applications from fiscal years 2020 through 2023 on April 4, calling the program created during President Donald Trump’s first term “wasteful and ineffective” in press releases.
In total, 72 North Carolina communities with active BRIC-funded projects worth about $225 million were affected.
Town officials across the state told Carolina Public Press that the mitigation projects they view as essential to keeping their communities safe are now caught in a federal political battle in Washington.
“I don’t consider water and sewer projects to be political or woke,” Town Manager Janet Mason said.
Neither did a bipartisan group of 80 members of Congress, which released a letter addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson shortly after the grant program’s termination, urging them to reverse the decision.
“BRIC funds are spurring communities across the country to strengthen their resilience to extreme weather, and forgoing these critical investments will only make it harder and more expensive for communities to recover from the next storm,” the letter read.
Instead, the legislators suggested that FEMA and Congress work together to improve the grant program’s application review and funding distribution processes.
Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. Chuck Edwards, both North Carolina Republicans, helped craft the letter. Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat representing the northeastern part of the state, and Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat representing Charlotte, were the other two members of North Carolina’s Congressional delegation to add their signatures.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to CPP’s request for a comment on pushback from lawmakers and local governments over the ending of the BRIC program.
Meanwhile, the communities with active BRIC-funded projects have been left to wait as the future of those funds is litigated in court. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined 19 other U.S. states in suing Noem and Richardson last month, arguing that FEMA’s termination of the grant program was illegal.
First, it argues that a 2006 federal law protecting FEMA from being dissolved also prevents the government from “substantially reducing FEMA’s mitigation functions.”
Secondly, the complaint states that FEMA’s refusal to spend funds directed towards the BRIC grant program by Congress violates the legislature’s power of the purse, as granted by the Constitution.
Lastly, it claims that Richardson and his predecessor Cameron Hamilton, who was removed from his position as acting FEMA administrator on May 8, did not have legal authority to end the BRIC program because neither were ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Those plaintiff states won a small victory on Aug. 5 when a United States District Judge placed an injunction on preventing the federal government from spending the BRIC funds until the court gives a final decision.
As noted in the lawsuit, FEMA had planned to return about $882 million of the BRIC funds to the U.S. Treasury and another $4 billion to its Disaster Relief Fund, which is reserved for post-disaster spending.
While many BRIC-funded projects in North Carolina have been put on pause as the federal money is withheld, some projects which have begun construction using already-obligated funds continue to advance.
Such is the case with Princeville, a low-lying community in Edgecombe County which was awarded $11 million to develop a 53-acre plot of land outside of the floodplain which encompasses much of the town.
Princeville Mayor Bobby Jones told CPP that the town continues to draw BRIC funds to work on the project.
Other communities, like Salisbury in Rowan County, are actively searching for alternative funding sources to complete their BRIC projects.
Salisbury was previously awarded $22.5 million through BRIC to relocate its existing water treatment facilities to a location more resilient to flooding. Utilities director Jason Wilson told CPP that the site of the new facilities is shovel-ready, which the city hopes makes it an attractive candidate for other grant programs.
The city intends to apply for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which unlike BRIC is a post-disaster relief program. Salisbury is eligible to apply since Rowan County was included in the federally declared disaster area following Hurricane Helene.
The City of Lumberton is also searching for a new source of funding for stream restoration, wetland preservation and trail construction projects, which it received a $1.9 million BRIC grant for several years ago.
The Robeson County city, which sits on the Lumber River, has been working since 2016 to develop land it bought from property owners following Hurricane Matthew into an expansive public trails system.
Deputy City Manager Brandon Love told CPP that he’s optimistic that the city will find an alternate source of funding to keep the project moving forward, but it’s nonetheless a disappointing development after years of planning.
“Getting caught up in the politics of things going on in Washington is hitting home here at the local level,” Love said, “and that’s unfortunate.”
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
The content presents a critical view of the cancellation of a federal grant program initiated under the Trump administration, highlighting bipartisan concern and legal challenges against the decision. It emphasizes the negative impact on local communities and frames the issue as a politically motivated action by current federal officials. The article leans slightly left by focusing on government responsibility for disaster mitigation funding and portraying the cancellation as harmful and controversial, while maintaining a balanced tone by including perspectives from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
