Gov Roy Cooper's first state budget proposal includes an emphasis on raising public school teacher pay Cooper's plan shows little interest and some outright opposition to boosting school choice options Terry Stoops the John Locke Foundation's director of research and education studies analyzes Cooper's proposals and compares them to the Republican-led General Assembly's recent education priorities Stoops also highlights recent remarks from some African-American Democratic legislators who stand against Cooper in supporting school choice Most of us have heard about mandates associated with the federal Affordable Care Act But a group called the N C Coalition for Fiscal Health is [... more]