State funding for public education has declined, even as lawmakers charge  ahead with tax cuts for profitable corporations and the wealthy few  

Net appropriations per student to the Department of Public Instruction, 2003-04 to 2024-25 (inflation adjusted to 2025 dollars)

BTC's preferred measure of inflation for budget analysis is the State and Local Implicit Price Deflator because this index more accurately reflects price changes for the goods and services that state governments buy, which are different than those purchased by household consumers. The number of students are measured by Average Daily Membership, which includes both traditional public and charter schools. Student enrollment for 2025-2026 school are estimated based on DPI figures for the first months of the school year.
Chart: NC Budget & Tax CenterSource: North Carolina Certified BudgetsGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper