Judge: No waiting on NC budget to act on school funding

A North Carolina judge has signaled he’s ready to formally demand legislators carry out a funding recipe to reduce public education inequities — whether or not a state budget is in place. Superior Court Judge David Lee told lawyers on Monday to draft a proposed order shortly that demands compliance with a remedial spending plan he endorsed this year. The plan calls for least $5.6 billion in new funding by 2028. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's budget proposal contains $1.7 billion through mid-2023. Republican budget proposals fell well short of that total. Cooper and lawmakers are still trying to work out a final budget.