Under the Dome: Mark Robinson wants to defund ‘bloated bureaucracy’ in education

Welcome to your Sunday Under the Dome newsletter all about the governor’s race. Dawn Vaughan here, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief.

How much money to spend on public education has long been a partisan issue in North Carolina.

Democrats want to follow the guidance from the long-running Leandro court case on funding public schools, while Republicans in the legislature have insisted they get to control the money. Republicans have a supermajority in the legislature, which means the ability to override a gubernatorial veto.

Added into the mix are the recent expansion of taxpayer-funded private school scholarships, which have long been a Republican priority. Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, who are running against each other for governor, have supported their parties’ education positions.

‘Cutting the fat’ out of education budget?

Robinson says money is being wasted in the education system. Audio recently obtained by The News & Observer of Robinson talking to the East Wake Republican Club in December sheds more light on what his plans might be for education funding if he becomes governor.

Robinson told the club that “it has already been proven that school systems get better results on less money,” and that “cutting the fat” out of the education budget would be “essential.”

“Our education budget is fine right where it is. We don’t need more dollars, we need to redirect dollars. We need to redirect dollars from bureaucracy.”

Robinson doesn’t say exactly how he would want to cut education funding. As lieutenant governor, he serves on the State Board of Education and recently clashed with Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper over funding, The N&O previously reported.

Asked to clarify Robinson’s position on education spending, his campaign spokesperson Mike Lonergan said it “already takes up a huge portion of the state budget and kids are still falling behind and struggling to catch up, especially low-income and students of color. The problem isn’t the money, it is the bloated bureaucracy.”

“Giving parents more options and a stronger voice in their kids’ education has always been one of Mark Robinson’s top priorities,” Lonergan said in an email. “As governor, he will work to make sure more taxpayer dollars actually fund students, teachers and schools, not bloated bureaucracy. This includes expanding opportunity scholarships so children aren’t trapped in failing schools, as well as more raises for teachers and boosting school safety and security.”

What Robinson said in a questionnaire

Ahead of the primary, Robinson answered a question on our candidate questionnaire about wasting taxpayer funding by mentioning education.

We asked: “In what areas, if any, do you believe state government is wasting taxpayer money?”

“We need to tackle the bureaucracy that’s holding our education system back. Education funding should focus on students, not bureaucracies and politics,” Robinson said. “I will work with lawmakers to give students and families more options that meet their educational needs — so more of our dollars are going directly into the classroom and giving raises for our teachers so they can focus on teaching, not being a parent, social worker or police officer.”

Asked what he would do to “strengthen public schools,” Robinson did not talk about funding aside from saying that “we also need to ensure teachers are treated as the professionals they are by paying them more and holding them to high standards of excellence.”

Stay informed

Don’t forget to follow our Under the Dome tweets and listen to our Under the Dome podcast to stay up to date. In case you missed it, check out our most recent podcast featuring my interview with state Rep. Maria Cervania, a Cary Democrat. And be sure to listen to our new podcast episode posting Monday morning. I was off for the Easter holiday, so my politics team colleague Kyle Ingram is your guest host.

You can sign up to receive the Under the Dome newsletter at newsobserver.com/newsletters.