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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Roy Cooper stated on August 29, 2016 in a TV ad: Says Gov. Pat McCrory \"tried to cut education funding to its lowest budget share in over 30 years.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Candidate Biography * Education * Negative Campaigning * State Budget * States * North Carolina * Roy Cooper By Will Doran September 1, 2016 # Roy Cooper ad attacking Pat McCrory on education leaves out important details Education continues to be front-and-center in the North Carolina governor’s race. The latest ad from Democratic candidate Roy Cooper features a teacher talking about how teachers have to buy supplies for their jobs, and how she decided to move to another state that pays teachers more. \"Gov. Pat McCrory talks about raising our pay, but he tried to cut education funding to its lowest budget share in over 30 years,\" she says. \"Like over 2,000 other teachers, I’m having to move to another state so I can do what I love and make ends meet. Someone needs to fix this.\" We wondered if McCrory really did suggest cutting education funding to the lowest share of the overall state budget in more than 30 years. First, though, we have to figure out what the ad was talking about. The state’s education budget is broken into three categories – higher education, community colleges and K-12. Since the ad is entirely about K-12 schools and the claim is spoken by that K-12 teacher, our first impression was that the claim was about K-12 funding. Cooper’s campaign told us it was actually referring to the total education budget. However, we believe a normal person viewing this ad will think it’s talking about K-12 funding. So we’ll look at both. Overall education spending North Carolina’s budget is tweaked annually, although the big-picture budget is set every other year, during odd-numbered years. In his 2015 proposal, McCrory suggested spending 56 percent of the budget on public schools, community colleges and universities in 2015-16, and 54.4 percent in 2016-17. It was that drop to 54.4 percent that Cooper’s campaign honed in on. They cited data from McCrory’s own budget that went back to 1981-82 and showed larger portions in all of those years. McCrory spokesman Ricky Diaz said the historically low proposal was because of uncertainty surrounding tax cuts. He added that the funding \"was always expected to be increased when the legislature came back ... after the state\'s revenue picture became more clear as the governor\'s tax cuts took hold, improving the economy and in turn, increasing revenue.\" We should note here that the N.C. General Assembly did not take McCrory’s advice. In 2015 it allocated 55.5 percent of state funding to education for 2016-17, more than a percentage point above McCrory’s proposal. And in July 2016, lawmakers increased the 2016-17 share to 56.8 percent. And that 56.8 percent share is, furthermore, less than what McCrory suggested in 2016. His proposal that year would have given education 57.5 percent of the state budget. That would’ve been the highest share since 2009-10, not the lowest in 30 years. Neither of McCrory’s suggestions were adopted by the legislature, high or low. But the ad specifically said McCrory \"tried to cut\" education’s budget share, so it’s fair to look at what McCrory proposed instead of what actually passed. And on that evidence, the claim is accurate about McCrory’s 2015 proposal. His 2016 proposal, however, suggested the largest budget share for education since the recession. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on August 27, 2024 in a social media post The order of candidate names on North Carolina’s ballot shows a “clear attempt at voter manipulation.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Paul Specht • August 28, 2024 K-12 only Next we’ll look only at the portion of the budget spent on K-12 schools. In 1981-82, the state spent 44 percent of its money on K-12. In 2015, McCrory suggested a 2016-17 spending level of 37.8 percent of the budget. That’s a drop, but it was not the \"lowest budget share in over 30 years.\" In 2008-09, 2010-11 and 2012-13, the budget’s share of K-12 funding was even lower. The 2008-09 budget was under Democratic Gov. Mike Easley. The other were under Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue. The first two were passed by a Democrat-led legislature, and the 2012-13 budget was passed by a Republican-led legislature. Per-pupil funding McCrory’s campaign pointed out that the budget shares for overall education spending and for K-12 specifically also fell while Cooper was in the General Assembly. Cooper served in the House of Representatives from 1987-91 and in the Senate from 1991 until 2001, when he became attorney general. From 1987 to 2001 the share of the budget going to all types of education dropped from 68 to 60.1 percent. The K-12 share dropped from 45.5 to 42.4 percent. So the same thing Cooper’s accusing McCrory of also happened when Cooper and his fellow Democrats were in charge of the budget. Cooper’s campaign defended his record, though. Megan Jacobs, his campaign spokeswoman, said education’s 60.1 percent budget share in Cooper’s final year in the Senate was \"almost 6 percent higher than what McCrory proposed here. It was also the highest it had been since 1993-94, which was before (Cooper) rose to senior leadership.\" So both Cooper and McCrory oversaw budgets that gave a smaller slice of the pie to education. But both also oversaw increases to per-pupil funding – a metric experts agree is a more indicative measure of support. Cooper knows all about the importance of per-pupil spending; we previously ruled his claim that North Carolina is near the bottom nationally as Mostly True. And per-pupil funding – from a combination of state, local and federal sources – rose under Cooper and has also risen under McCrory. Let’s rewind 20 years to the 1995-96 school year when Cooper was midway through his legislative career. North Carolina schools got $5,090 per student, the equivalent of $7,916 in 2015 dollars. Cooper’s last budget was for 2000-01, when he was the Democratic majority leader in the Senate. Schools that year received $6,654 per pupil, the equivalent of $9,158 in 2015 dollars. For comparison, North Carolina spent $8,496 per student in 2013-14 – McCrory’s first budget, and a few dollars higher than the year prior – and an estimated $8,898 in 2015-16, according to the National Education Association. Our ruling Cooper said McCrory \"tried to cut education funding to its lowest budget share in over 30 years.\" McCrory’s proposed budget in 2015 did suggest doing exactly that for the 2016-17 school year, although McCrory later adjusted his proposal in 2016, when his budget’s share of education funding would’ve been the highest since 2009-10. That’s a detail the ad leaves out, along with the fact that the share of the budget going to education also declined when Cooper was in the legislature. Since the statement is partially accurate but leaves out important context, we rate this claim Half True. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Roy Cooper education ad, \"Fix This\" via YouTube, Aug. 29, 2016 Phone and email interviews with Megan Jacobs, Roy Cooper spokeswoman Phone and email interviews with Ricky Diaz, Pat McCrory spokesman McCrory’s recommended budget for 2015-17, published March 2015. Table with historical data on education’s budget share is on page 262 McCrory’s recommended budget for 2016-17, published April 2016 2015-17 biennial state budget, passed and signed into law Sept. 18, 2015 Changes to the 2016-17 budget, passed July 1, 2016 and signed into law July 14, 2016 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, \"State Comparisons of Education Statistics: 1969-70 to 1996-97\" N.C. Department of Public Instruction, \"Facts and Figures 2001-02\" includes per-pupil expenditure data for 2000-01 N.C. Department of Public Instruction, \"Facts and Figures 2015-16\" includes per-pupil expenditure data for 2015-16 National Education Association, \"Rankings of States and Estimates of School Statistics,\" 2004-05 to present ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Will Doran ![](\\" ![](\\" Kathy Manning stated on October 23, 2018 in a debate: \"I\'m not taking any corporate PAC money.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Will Doran • October 28, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Richard Burr stated on June 8, 2017 in an interview: \"This is not the first time (the Russians) have been involved in our elections.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Will Doran • June 20, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Richard Burr stated on June 13, 2017 in his opening statement before Jeff Session\'s testimony: Says the Senate Intelligence Committee has held 10 public hearings this year, \"more than double that held by the committee in any recent year.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Will Doran • June 14, 2017 ![](\\" rnc___/d59d65e4f38c55a43c66f113beb66c95.jpg\\") ![](\\" rnc___/0d3545b0ac8f06c33acac22bf2805e17.jpg\\") North Carolina Republican Party stated on June 8, 2017 in in an official statement: Says former FBI Director James Comey admitted to leaking classified information. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Will Doran • June 9, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" David Lewis stated on June 1, 2017 in a tweet: \"The waiting list for Pre-K is over in the House budget.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Will Doran • June 6, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Thom Tillis stated on May 19, 2017 in a press release supporting the Back The Blue Act of 2017: \"Last year was one of the deadliest years ever for law enforcement officers.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Will Doran • May 23, 2017 ![](\\" emailer/3def8495970cc07eac4830a436f0dde8.jpg\\") ![](\\" emailer/8326b12f6f63c036e56624abe598b6a8.jpg\\") Chain email stated on May 11, 2017 in a chain email: Says there are thousands of registered voters over 110 years old in North Carolina, including one who is 219 years old. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Will Doran • May 18, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ted Budd stated on May 4, 2017: Says if the AHCA replaces Obamacare it will \"significantly reduce insurance premiums in\" North Carolina. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Will Doran • May 10, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Robert Pittenger stated on May 2, 2017 in a written statement: Says the Republican plan to replace Obamacare, \"absolutely does not eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Will Doran • May 4, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on April 20, 2017 in posts on social media: \"After prohibition ended, police deaths didn\'t reach 200 a year again until the year Nixon declared war on drugs.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Will Doran • April 24, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Richard Burr stated on April 18, 2017 in a speech in Youngsville, NC: \"The pace of missile development between (Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un) has increased the testing about twenty-fold.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Will Doran • April 24, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jay Chaudhuri stated on April 5, 2017 in an interview explaining his bill: Says the T.R.U.M.P. Act, which would force presidential candidates to release their tax returns to run in North Carolina, \"has a lot of support – by a majority of North Carolinians and members of both parties.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Will Doran • April 19, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Greg Murphy stated on April 10, 2017 in a speech: \"Every day, four North Carolinians die from a medication or drug overdose.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Will Doran • April 13, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Caitlyn Jenner stated on March 31, 2017: Says North Carolina\'s replacement for HB2 \"orders NC cities to discriminate against LGBT people until at least 2020 and unfair ‘bathroom bans’ remain.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Will Doran • April 4, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on March 27, 2017: \"The Notebook is finally getting a sequel. Producers of the upcoming film confirmed .... that filming will begin in Jacksonville, North Carolina this summer.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Will Doran • April 2, 2017 ### Roy Cooper ad attacking Pat McCrory on education leaves out important details * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in a post: Vice President Kamala Harris’ college professors disparaged her as their “worst student.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 17, 2024 in a post: Photo shows Kamala Harris posing beside Sean “Diddy” Combs. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 18, 2024 in Instagram posts: “BREAKING: Police found ‘explosives’ in car near former President Donald Trump’s rally site on Long Island.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Dave McCormick stated on September 13, 2024 in an X post: Charleroi, Pennsylvania, “has grown by 2,000% due to an influx in migrants.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"El gran respaldo de Taylor Swift\" a Kamala Harris \"le cuesta $125 millones en acuerdos de marca\". ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 16, 2024 in an Instagram post: Taylor Swift “lost 17 million followers by endorsing Kamala.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on September 13, 2024 in a post on X: Rep. Ruben Gallego’s “first act in Congress was to propose legislation to BAN the use of the term ‘illegal alien.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Mia Osmonbekov • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sherrod Brown stated on September 4, 2024 in a TV interview: Of Bernie Moreno, “Now, he’s arguing for a national abortion ban, no exceptions.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 16, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Country Music Television (CMT) has announced a permanent boycott of Taylor Swift.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 11, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Disney World officially moving to Nashville.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! 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Says Gov Pat McCrory tried to cut education funding to its lowest budget share in over 30 years