Opinion: Wake County Public Schools Can’t Afford to Bleed Educators

North Carolina’s public schools are on the brink failing hundreds of scholars, and Wake County families should be paying close attention. The warning signs are already flashing red across the state: in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, more than 300 teachers, staff, and administrators are expected to lose their jobs this week due to a staggering $46 million deficit.

That isn’t just a Winston-Salem problem. It’s a North Carolina problem. And if we don’t demand urgent action, Wake County Public Schools—the largest district in the state—could face similar struggles in the months ahead.

At the very same time educators are bracing for pink slips, the State Health Plan Board has voted to raise health insurance premiums for all state employees in 2026. Let’s be clear: without raises, higher healthcare costs are a pay cut. Teachers and school staff will take home less this year than last year.

This is the reality in our classrooms:

• Educators are already paying more at the grocery store, the gas pump, and the rent office.

• North Carolina teachers spend, on average, more than $1,000 out-of-pocket for classroom supplies.

• Now, they’ll pay anywhere from $120 to over $1,000 more a year just to keep health insurance.

That math doesn’t add up—not for families trying to build stability, and not for schools trying to retain talent. Every dollar siphoned from educators’ paychecks pushes another teacher, bus driver, or counselor out of a profession they can no longer afford.

Wake County, like districts across North Carolina, is already grappling with historic vacancies. Class sizes are ballooning, students are losing access to support staff, and parents are left asking why the largest school system in the state can’t fill its classrooms. The answer is simple: North Carolina refuses to invest in the people who make public schools work.

And make no mistake—this is about more than teacher paychecks. This is about the stability of our communities and our economy. Strong public schools anchor neighborhoods, grow opportunity, and drive local prosperity. When schools crumble, so does everything around them.

So what must be done? Lawmakers in Raleigh must:

• Pass a state budget that delivers real raises for educators and staff.

• Guarantee affordable healthcare for all public employees.

• Stop balancing the books on the backs of underpaid, overworked educators.

Anything less is a betrayal of North Carolina’s children—and a betrayal of the communities that depend on strong schools to thrive.

Wake County families should not wait until our district faces the same fate as Winston-Salem. We must raise our voices now, before more educators are forced out of classrooms and more students lose the stability they deserve.

Because the truth is simple: you can’t build strong schools on empty promises. You build them by respecting, retaining, and investing in the people who make them possible.