NC Supreme Court chief justice replaces the judge in Leandro school funding case
A Superior Court judge who had ordered state leaders to transfer $1.7 billion to increase funding for North Carolina’s public schools has been removed from the Leandro school funding case.
N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby issued a court order Monday naming fellow Republican Michael L. Robinson as the new trial judge overseeing the Leandro case. Robinson will replace fellow Superior Court Judge David Lee, a registered Democrat, who had accused GOP lawmakers of failing to provide students with the opportunity to receive a sound basic education.
Newby gives no reason for the change in his order, only saying that he has the authority to make the switch.
The news of the change in judges was first reported Tuesday by the Carolina Journal.
Monday’s order was issued the same day that the N.C. Supreme Court also agreed to hear an appeal of Lee’s order to transfer the money. As part of that court order, the Supreme Court had directed the trial judge, now Robinson, to review whether to amend Lee’s November order based on the recently adopted state budget.
The change comes as leaders of the Republican-controlled General Assembly have been critical of Lee and the Leandro school action plan. They argue that only the legislature has the constitutional authority to appropriate state money.
Any changes Robinson makes to the court order could lessen the ability of the Supreme Court’s 4-3 Democratic majority to order the state to fund the Leandro plan.
Providing a sound basic education
The court order is the latest chapter in the long-running Leandro school funding case.
The Leandro case was initially filed in 1994 by low-wealth school districts to get more state funding.
Over the years, the state Supreme Court has ruled that the state Constitution guarantees every child “an opportunity to receive a sound basic education” and that the state was failing to meet that obligation. But the high court has held off on ordering the state to approve a specific funding plan.
Lee, a retired Union County judge, was assigned the case by the Supreme Court in 2016 after Superior Court Judge Howard Manning retired. Manning, a Republican, has criticized Lee’s handling of the Leandro case.
In his Nov. 10 court order, Lee wrote that the courts had waited long enough for state lawmakers to act. He ordered the state treasurer, state controller and state budget director to transfer $1.7 billion to fund the next two years of a multi-year action plan developed by an education consultant.
The consultant’s plan includes things such as pay raises for principals and teachers, hiring more teacher assistants, increased funding for low-wealth school systems and expansion of the state’s Pre-K program.
Soon after, a three-judge state Court of Appeals panel blocked enforcement of Lee’s order. The two GOP judges on the panel said Lee exceeded his authority.
The plaintiffs appealed for the Supreme Court to intervene. State Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore asked that the case remain in the Court of Appeals, where there’s a GOP majority, before moving to the Supreme Court.
Newby accused of changing the rules
Robinson unsuccessfully ran as a Republican for a seat on the state Supreme Court in 2014.
Robinson was sworn in as a Special Superior Court Judge for Complex Business Cases on July 1, 2016, with chambers at Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem. Robinson is a lifelong resident of Winston-Salem, according to the state court website.
The change in judges was criticized Tuesday by Democrats.
“This is akin to a losing basketball team changing out a referee in its favor,” Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Wake County Democrat, tweeted Tuesday.
Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Wake County Democrat, tweeted Tuesday that “I guess if you don’t like how the game is going, you just change the rules instead.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 4:11 PM with the headline "NC Supreme Court chief justice replaces the judge in Leandro school funding case."
