What They’re Saying: North Carolinians Celebrate Governor Stein’s Signing of State Budget That Delivers for North Carolina, Highlight the Path Forward

On Tuesday, Governor Stein signed Senate Bill 257 into law, enacting North Carolina’s first full state budget in more than two years. The budget delivers the largest starting teacher pay raise in nearly 50 years and largest overall teacher pay raise in 15 years, fully funds Medicaid for the year, and provides historic salary increases to public safety officers while making meaningful investments in the state’s community colleges, the DMV, child care, cybersecurity, a new veterans home, clean drinking water, and summer food programs for kids.

Educators, business leaders, lawmakers, law enforcement, and advocates are highlighting their support for key components of Senate Bill 257 and sharing where continued investment is needed. Read their perspectives below.  

State Board of Education Chair Eric Davis and North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green: “North Carolina’s public school students have achieved historic results in graduation rates, Advanced Placement exams, industry-recognized credentials, and passing college-level courses while still in high school. They did it because our educators show up every day to teach and support with skill and heart, even while their pay has been inadequate. This budget begins to honor that work with real pay raises, especially for our beginning teachers, and stronger support for our educators and students. These are important steps; however, much more remains to be done so that every educator is valued and paid appropriately and every student in every community has what they need to succeed. With continued, meaningful investment, North Carolina will build the best public school system in the nation.” 

Leanne Winner, Executive Director of the NC School Board Association: “NCSBA appreciates the General Assembly and Governor working together to pass a budget agreement that includes meaningful investments in public education, including significant teacher salary increases, and additional support for literacy and mathematics initiatives. School districts can now move forward with concrete information to finalize staffing, programs, and plans to best serve students. We remain committed to working with state leaders to ensure school districts have the resources and flexibility to meet the needs of the students, families, and communities they serve.” 

John Lassiter, President of the North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals' Association: “As President of the North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals' Association, I am grateful that our state leaders came together to pass a compromise budget that provides much-needed clarity and stability for North Carolina's public schools. I have always believed that ‘perfect can sometimes be the enemy of good.’ While this budget isn't perfect, the progress it offers is better than prolonged uncertainty. The investments in educator pay and the certainty this budget provides allow us to devote our time, energy, and resources to what we do best—educating students and preparing them for success in an ever-changing world. Progress deserves to be celebrated, and our students deserve for that progress to continue.” 

North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education: “North Carolina’s new budget takes a critical step toward expanding economic opportunity across our state by setting a floor for Child Care Subsidy Program reimbursement rates. In 2025, the NC Task Force on Child Care and Early Education recommended this policy to help child care providers – especially those in rural communities – hold on to more revenue that can be used to improve teacher pay, offer workplace benefits, and serve more children and families. The Task Force thanks Governor Stein, leaders in the General Assembly, state agencies, child care and early education policy, and the business community for delivering this child care and early education win.”

Tom Looney, Chair of the State Board of Community Colleges: “The North Carolina Community College System will see one of its largest funding increases in recent years under the state budget passed by the North Carolina General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Josh Stein, with new money aimed squarely at the workforce development that fuels the state’s economy. This budget is a historic investment in North Carolina’s future and a powerful statement that workforce development is an economic priority. By modernizing workforce funding through Propel NC, supporting record enrollment growth, expanding apprenticeships, and investing in technology, the General Assembly and Governor Stein are giving our community colleges the tools to move at the speed of business and innovation.” 

Erica Palmer Smith, Executive Director, NC Child: “From ‘First in Freedom’ to ‘First in Flight,’ North Carolina has a legacy of innovation that pushes us to new heights. With the $100.8 million investment in our state’s early education system to establish a statewide subsidy floor, North Carolina once again achieves a new ‘first.’ No other state has something like this.  This transformative investment will help make child care more affordable and accessible, giving children the opportunity to access key learning opportunities that support a lifetime of success. This investment helps provide parents with the stability needed to maintain employment, advance their careers, and provide for their families. This investment helps align subsidies closer to the true cost of care while helping child care operators keep the lights on and classrooms open. We are grateful to Governor Stein and the North Carolina General Assembly for recognizing the importance of early learning opportunities and taking action to improve the lives of North Carolina’s children.” 

Hannah Moon, Southeast Regional Teacher of the Year: “Hope is what starts a teaching career; support is what sustains it. This budget recognizes that teachers deserve an investment and progress deserves to be honored. This budget has many positive features for public schools: an average of 8% in teacher pay raises, bonuses for educators, and investments in essential supplements. The work isn’t finished. Now is the time to keep working to give teachers and students something they can be proud of: a public education system that reveres its educators and invests in every student.” 

North Carolina Partnership for Children (Smart Start): “North Carolina’s new budget makes meaningful investments in young children and families by strengthening key early childhood supports across the state. Investments in child care academies, increased Child Care Subsidy Program reimbursement rates, expanded support for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and enhanced behavioral and mental health services will help more children get the strong start they deserve. Smart Start thanks Governor Stein, leaders in the General Assembly, and our partners across the early childhood community for advancing these investments. We look forward to working together to ensure these resources strengthen local systems, expand opportunities for families, and create lasting benefits for children and communities across North Carolina.” 

Cecilia Holden, President & CEO, myFutureNC: “This budget represents meaningful progress toward strengthening North Carolina’s workforce by investing in priorities championed through myFutureNC’s Workforce Act of 2026. These investments strengthen pathways for learners to earn industry-valued credentials, connect talent to opportunity, and create a skilled workforce to ensure our state remains economically competitive. myFutureNC remains committed to partnering with leaders across education and workforce sectors to ensure these investments create lasting impact – helping North Carolina reach our goal of 2 million industry-valued credentials by 2030 and building the workforce needed for long-term prosperity.” 

Dr. Anthony Jackson, President/CEO at Public School Forum of North Carolina: “This budget reflects meaningful progress and reinforces an important truth: Investing in public education is one of the wisest investments North Carolina can make. This budget will provide much-needed investments in educator pay, recruitment, and retention; expansion of the NC Community Schools Framework; and increased access to affordable childcare for families. At the same time, North Carolina falls behind the rest of the country in funding for our public schools – and we have much farther to go to ensure that our schools, students, and educators have the resources they need to thrive. Continued progress will require sustained investments, and the tax cuts included in this budget threaten the state’s capacity to invest in its students, educators, and communities for years to come. By continuing to work together, we can build a stronger future for every student and every community across our state.” 

Charles Blackwood, Orange County Sheriff: “This budget – and the long road of compromise that brought us to this point – demonstrates that we can work together not only across party lines but across all differences. By collaborating in good faith, we can deliver meaningful results for the people we were elected to serve. I’m proud to have been part of this process and look forward to continuing the work of finding common ground for North Carolina.” 

Bryan House, Director, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement: “This budget reflects a strong commitment to North Carolina’s law enforcement community and recognizes the critical need to recruit and retain highly qualified officers and agents. For ALE, these enhancements will strengthen our ability to attract and retain the dedicated professionals needed to meet our evolving public safety mission. We appreciate Governor Stein and the General Assembly for their commitment to supporting those who serve and protect the people of North Carolina.” 

Colonel Freddy L. Johnson Jr., North Carolina State Highway Patrol: “The positive investments made with this budget strengthen our ability to recruit and retain the highly qualified troopers and civilian professionals who answer a calling to serve our communities every day. By providing much needed salary increases, it will help us remain competitive in attracting and keeping the best people. This budget also makes critical investments in State Highway Patrol facilities across North Carolina. Many of our facilities are decades old, and our training facilities more than 100 years old. Modernizing these buildings will provide safer, more functional work environments for our personnel while ensuring we can continue delivering the highest level of service to the citizens of our state. These investments reflect a strong commitment to public safety and will have a lasting, positive impact on the State Highway Patrol and the people we proudly serve.” 

Chip Hawley, Director, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation: “This budget provides unprecedented support for the SBI as an agency and additionally a very strong level of support for public safety as a whole. The SBI gets to participate in that support by facilitating a bonus for every local law enforcement officer in North Carolina. I’m told this has never happened before. We are incredibly grateful for the support which gives us the necessary resources to support sheriffs, police chiefs, and district attorneys statewide.” 

Mayor Abigail Norton, Town of Hot Springs: “The Town of Hot Springs is so appreciative of the support received from both the state and federal government to help our town recover from Hurricane Helene. Grant and loan funds from multiple state and federal agencies have been critical to restoring essential services, rebuilding infrastructure, and helping our community move forward. Combined with the incredible efforts of countless volunteers who helped clean up our town and get local businesses back on their feet, that support has brought us to a much stronger place. But our recovery is far from over. Rebuilding major infrastructure takes time, and communities like ours continue to navigate lengthy federal funding and construction processes. The additional funding included in this budget for local government capital grants and to cover the local FEMA cost share will allow us to keep critical projects moving forward. We're grateful to Governor Stein and the General Assembly for continuing to invest in communities like Hot Springs. Their partnership is helping ensure that small towns have the resources they need not just to recover, but to build back stronger." 

Margaret Fenton Lebeck, CEO, Housing Assistance Corporation: "We are pleased that the new state budget provides additional funding for nonprofit housing grants to organizations like The Housing Assistance Corporation, which have been helping repair and replace homes since the earliest days after Hurricane Helene. Recovering the thousands of homes damaged or destroyed by Helene will take all of us working together. Government programs, nonprofit organizations, faith-based partners, and volunteers each have an essential role to play in making sure families can remain in the communities they call home. Renew NC is doing critical work administering federal HUD funding to help families across our region return to safe, permanent homes after Hurricane Helene. The budget includes funding requested by Governor Stein to provide temporary housing assistance to eligible families in the Renew NC program while their homes are being rebuilt. That support will help more qualifying families participate in the program, remove barriers to recovery, and accelerate the pace of rebuilding across our region. Thank you to Governor Stein and the members of the General Assembly for your continued commitment to helping Western North Carolina recover." 

Wendell Powell, President of SEANC: “SEANC is proud to represent North Carolina’s 77,000 state employees. As a longtime correctional officer, I’ve seen firsthand the impacts of vacancies on offender safety and officer morale. The 15.4% raises will help us recruit top talent and keep people safe. But as a representative of all state employees, I’m disappointed to not see that same value invested in every public servant. These 3% raises are not enough to keep up with inflation. They don’t value hardworking state employees appropriately, and they make it harder to attract new people to state government. As North Carolina’s economy keeps growing, we must ensure that those benefits are felt by the people who keep our state running.”   

Peter Gwaltney, President & CEO of the NC Bankers Association: “North Carolina’s success as one of the best states in the nation to do business is not happenstance—it is the result of intentional investments and sound policies that support our teachers, law enforcement, communities, businesses, and residents. A strong state budget is essential to maintaining that momentum. When North Carolina is a great place to live, work, start a business, and grow a company, our entire economy benefits. A thriving business environment strengthens our banks, and strong banks, in turn, have greater opportunities to invest in businesses, support families, and give back to the communities they serve. It is a cycle of shared success, and we must continue making the investments necessary to keep North Carolina moving forward and passing sound budgets will do that!"  

Paul Tine, Commissioner, North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles: “I am grateful to Governor Stein and the North Carolina General Assembly for their strong support in the newly passed state budget. Over the past year, we have made significant progress at NCDMV, and the increased funding and additional staff resources will allow us to build on that momentum. These investments will help us further reduce wait times and advance our goal of becoming an exceptional customer service organization that North Carolinians can be proud of.” 

Amy Beros, President and CEO of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC: “Across the Food Bank network, we’re grateful to see meaningful investments in the state budget that recognize the deep connection between hunger relief, local agriculture, and the long-term health of our communities. We are especially encouraged by the significant commitment to purchasing food from North Carolina farms and the broader investments in land preservation for local agriculture. We also appreciate the funding, staffing, and technology investments devoted to protecting access to SNAP grocery support. This budget represents a significant and important first step — and we are grateful to Governor Stein and the many legislative leaders who helped make it possible. At the same time, we know there is a long road ahead. Federal cuts to vital hunger relief programs mean North Carolina will need to do even more next year to protect SNAP, invest in local farms, and ensure no one goes hungry in our state.” 

Click here to view Governor Stein’s full remarks from Tuesday’s signing ceremony.