VOLUME 9 ISSUE 30 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
NSJONLINE.COM
Panthers bench QB Bryce Young, B1 the
BRIEF this week
Suspect in apparent assassination attempt on golf course for 12 hours West Palm Beach, Fla. The Greensboro native suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a Florida golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire, according to court documents filed Monday. Ryan Wesley Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away after an agent who spotted him shot in his direction, officials said. He was arrested in a neighboring county. Routh, 58, appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach to face federal firearms charges, starting a criminal case in the final weeks of a presidential race already touched by violence and upheaval. Though no one was injured, the episode marked the second attempt on Trump’s life in as many months. Routh has three misdemeanor and two felony convictions in North Carolina — including one for a 2002 incident during which he barricaded himself in a Greensboro roofing company building, leading to a threehour standoff with police. One of the charges was for possession of a weapon of mass destruction for having a fully automatic weapon. An AK-style rifle was found at the scene where Routh was located by the Secret Service.
Goldsboro’s O’Meara retiring from pro golf Pebble Beach, Calif. Mark O’Meara, the 67-yearold Goldsboro native who grew up in California, is ending his career this week at the PGA Tour Champions’ Pure Insurance Championship, held at Pebble Beach and Spyglass. O’Meara, inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015 at a ceremony at St. Andrews, ends his career with 16 wins on the PGA Tour, three on the European tour, two on the Japan Golf Tour, one on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the 1994 Argentina Open. O’Meara’s two biggest wins were the Masters and British Open in 1998, making him the oldest player to win two majors in the same year, and he also won the U.S. Amateur in 1979.
BRUNSWICK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE VIA AP
Under water A police officer checks on a vehicle that fell into a sinkhole on a highway in Brunswick County after a storm dropped historic amounts of rain on North Carolina’s coast Monday. For more, turn to Page A8.
UNC System reports growth in enrollment HBCUs led gains as N.C.’s public universities aligned with a national upward trend
School construction financing, more asks greenlit by LGC Macon and Rowan counties were approved for a combined $142 million By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The North Carolina Local Government Commission has greenlit financing requests totaling more than $335 million for various projects across the state, in-
cluding school construction financing for Macon and Rowan counties. The approvals came during the Local Government Commission’s (LGC) monthly meeting held Sept. 10. Rowan County secured the largest single financing approval, with $73 million in limited obligation bonds authorized for school-related capital projects. The funds will be used to address aging facilSee LGC, page A8
WCPSS paid $379K to senator’s equity training company
$12M Amount spent by the WCPSS Office of Equity Affairs since 2014-15
The Equity Collaborative was founded and run by Orange County state Sen. Graig Meyer
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Three years after North State Journal reported on a professional development course called “Intro to Critical Race Theory“ being offered to teachers in Wake County Public Schools, the organization behind that training continues to receive funds from the district. Public records requests show Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) invoices and payments to The Equity Collaborative (TEC) totaling more than $379,500 between 2019 and July 2024.
TEC was founded and is run by sitting North Carolina General Assembly Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Orange). According to its website, TEC’s “equity-centered professional learning and coaching” includes defining “what is equity” as well as “exploring implicit bias,” “understanding systemic oppression and privilege” and “developing your approach for anti-racism.” “The sessions are based on the belief that helping adults to develop an equity-centered approach to everything they do is the key to achieving equity in school environments,” TEC’s website says. “This institute is focused on finding common definitions of equity, oppression, and culturally responsive actions, as well as developing an approach to grow, change, and better serve our most marginalized students and families.”
North State Journal staff RALEIGH — In a year when many universities across the nation are still feeling the aftershocks of pandemic-era enrollment drops, the University of North Carolina System is experiencing a rising tide. From Western Carolina to UNC Wilmington, there are nearly a quarter million students now navigating the halls of the state’s public universities. According to a release this week from the UNC System, enrollment across the 17-campus system is up 2.2% from last year and 3.5% since 2022. The growth aligns with national figures, which show a 2.5% increase in undergraduate enrollment for Spring 2024, according to recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. All institutions with-
“Our goal is to help organizations develop their own capacity to create educational equity and social justice by addressing bias and oppression,” TEC’s website says about its equity coaching. A 2021 analysis of contracts in just seven districts around the country found TEC had earned more than $1.29 million in fees, including a “racial equity institute” and “dismantling racism” workshops that cost the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools $219,100. In 2020, Cumberland County Public Schools paid TEC $38,826 and New Hanover schools paid TEC over $24,000. In 2021, NSJ reported that WCPSS had supplied $97,000 in invoices and See WCPSS, page A8
$2.00
in the UNC System reported an increase in enrollment, with transfer enrollment seeing a significant 7.8% rise over last year. UNC System campuses added more than 5,400 students this fall. North Carolina Central, UNC Wilmington and Elizabeth City State led the system with the highest growth rates at 7.7%, 4.7% and 4.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, Winston-Salem State (0.1%), Western Carolina (0.5%), UNC Pembroke (0.6%), UNC Chapel Hill (0.6%) and East Carolina (0.6%) saw more modest increases. NC State, which remains the largest campus by undergraduate enrollment, experienced a 3.1% increase. “We’ve worked hard to keep higher education affordable, to make sure students are graduating with great prospects and less debt,” said UNC System President Peter Hans. “Our universities are focused on delivering a valuable education that’s truly accessible for the people of this state, and that message is getting across.” See UNC, page A2