08/13/2026
Please tell me this is fake news?
Editorial: Public Schools Tighten Their Belts While Lawmakers Celebrate $9 Million for a Private College
As Gaston County Schools continue grappling with budget pressures, staffing shortages, hiring freezes, and difficult financial decisions, another story deserves public attention.
The North Carolina General Assembly appropriated $9 million to Belmont Abbey College—a private Catholic institution—to help build a new performing arts center. State Sen. Brad Overcash and Rep. John Torbett praised the funding, calling the project an investment in the community and a future cultural destination.
There is value in investing in the arts.
But taxpayers should also ask a broader question: What do these funding decisions say about our priorities?
Over the past several years, North Carolina has increasingly directed taxpayer dollars toward private education through expanded Opportunity Scholarships, charter school growth, and other policies that have shifted resources away from the traditional public school system. At the same time, lawmakers have changed how education lottery proceeds are distributed, reducing the share once guaranteed for public schools.
Meanwhile, public school districts like Gaston County Schools continue to face difficult budget realities. School leaders have been forced to make tough decisions about staffing and resources while trying to meet the needs of thousands of students.
The issue isn't whether Belmont Abbey deserves a performing arts center. Nor is it whether the arts are important.
The real question is whether it makes sense for lawmakers to celebrate millions of taxpayer dollars for a private institution while public schools—the schools that educate the overwhelming majority of North Carolina's children—are being asked to do more with less.
Reasonable people can disagree on the answer. But taxpayers deserve an honest conversation about the state's spending priorities. Every budget reflects a set of values. Every appropriation reflects a choice.
As public schools tighten their belts, North Carolinians should decide for themselves whether these are the choices they want their elected representatives making.
— Gaston County Community Talk
