Today, Governor Roy Cooper toured Moncure School in Chatham County and delivered supplies collected from the Governor’s School Supply Drive. The Governor visited several classrooms and spoke with students, teachers and support staff. He thanked educators for their dedication to helping students learn and grow.
“The students, faculty and staff at Moncure School are a clear example of how important strong public schools are to the growth and success of our state,” said Governor Cooper. “It’s past time for the legislature to pass a budget that makes meaningful investments in public education and gives educators overdue raises.”
“The Governor’s visit and school supply donation not only brought joy to the students and staff at Moncure School but also highlighted his unwavering commitment to public education in our great state,” said Chatham County Schools Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson. “We are immensely grateful for his steadfast dedication to empowering our educators and ensuring they have the resources they need to create a nurturing environment for our students.”
The Governor’s School Supply Drive ran from July 24 to August 18, 2023. As in past years, the State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) and Communities In Schools of North Carolina partnered with the state to collect and deliver the school supplies to classrooms. On average, teachers spend over $500 of their own money on supplies for their classrooms each year.
Donation bins were located in all State Employees’ Credit Union locations across the state. North Carolina residents contributed by dropping off items at a SECU location or by organizing their own drive at their workplace.
Governor Cooper first held the Governor’s Annual School Supply Drive in 2017 to provide school supplies to help support families, schools and communities across the state. Governor Cooper’s cabinet members and volunteers with Communities In Schools of North Carolina and VolunteerNC are helping to distribute the supplies to public schools across North Carolina. Paper, pens, pencils, notebooks and sanitizing wipes are among the supplies that are being delivered to schools across the state as part of the annual drive.
The Governor’s proposed budget invests substantially in public schools and a sound basic education required by the constitution for every student by providing an average 18% teacher raise over the biennium and including funding to help hire more educators, nurses, counselors, social workers, school psychologists and turnaround coaches. Governor Cooper is urging the state legislature to do their jobs and pass a state budget that invests in public schools, students and teachers.
In August 2023, the Governor announced an investment to help tackle North Carolina's school bus driver shortage crisis by allocating $1 million in federal funding to the Division of Motor Vehicles in the North Carolina Department of Transportation to enhance school bus driver training capacity.
Moncure School is a K-8 public school located in Chatham County. They offer AVID Success Strategies to prepare students for higher education.
###