The NC Department of Public Instruction released their annual “Highlights of the North Carolina Public School Budget” document. It provides very good summaries of public education finance with a particular focus on state and federal revenue.
As the chart below indicates, total state education funding, in nominal terms, appears to be on the upswing. (See Highlights, p. 2) Like most states hit hard by the Great Recession, education funding remains lower than 2007-2009 levels. Nevertheless, 2011-2012 funding was higher than the two preceding school years.
