By Laurel White
Resources and programs that would effectively close opportunity gaps for primary and secondary school students in North Carolina would require a roughly 200% increase in funding, according to a new report co-authored by a School of Education faculty member.
Christopher Saldaña, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, co-authored the report released by the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Saldaña says he hopes the report sheds light on actions that need to be taken to level the playing field for students in preschool, elementary, and high school.
“We hope this report extends the ways that policymakers, scholars, and state and community stakeholders discuss and conceptualize the educational resources needed to close opportunity gaps,” he says.
The report presents the first findings from a wide-ranging national study called “The Price of Opportunity,” an initiative spearheaded at the National Education Policy Center. This report focuses exclusively on “The Price of Opportunity” findings related to spending and initiatives in North Carolina.
The report found the total cost of implementing an “Every Child Thrives” educational system in North Carolina would be between $36.6 and $43.4 billion, or roughly $23,600 to $28,000 per pupil. That would represent an increase of $18.4 to $25.2 billion over current expenditures on P–12 public education in North Carolina, a 201% to 238% increase.
The report’s authors define an “Every Child Thrives” system as one that “ensures that every public school has the resources and programs needed to overcome the challenges facing students inside and outside of school.” Their recommendations include supporting:
- A well prepared, high quality, and supported teacher in every classroom.
- A well prepared, high quality, and supported principal in every school.
- A reliable and reasonable assessment and accountability system.
- Equitable and high-quality pre-kindergarten and early childhood learning systems.
- A strong system of supports for special education.
- An empowering system of supports for linguistically diverse learners.
- A strong system of wrap-around supports and community partnerships.
- A robust and multifaceted family engagement system.
- A positive school climate and system of behavior supports in every school.
“In addition to costs, the report also considers the balance between educational, social, and economic policy systems needed to eliminate educational opportunity gaps,” Saldaña says.
Saldaña co-authored the report with Anna Deese, Kevin Welner, Michelle Renée Valladares, and Adam York of the University of Colorado Boulder, Kathryn Wiley of Howard University, and “The Price of Opportunity” consultants Tatianna Grant and John Myers.
In the report, the authors acknowledge the hefty price tag they propose, but contend such investment is important and worthwhile.
“Children should be protected and educated in a way that offers each child an opportunity to flourish and thrive,” the authors wrote. “It is a fool’s errand to attempt to meet this moral obligation without the needed investments of resources.”
Saldaña’s research continues to focus on the relationship between K-12 school finance and educational opportunity, and particularly on the educational experiences of minoritized and marginalized students.
Earlier this year, he was honored by the Association of Education Finance and Policy with its 2024 Jean Flanigan Outstanding Dissertation Award. He was also recently part of a working group on educational accountability that presented during a Congressional briefing before the U.S. House of Representatives and hosts a NEPC podcast.
Read the full NEPC report, “Taking Equal Opportunity Rhetoric Seriously: Envisioning and Costing-Out a P–12 Public School System in North Carolina Where Every Child Thrives: A Working Document,” here.