N.C. gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein listens to student concerns

Josh Stein, current North Carolina Attorney General and Democratic candidate for governor, spoke directly to student journalism publications across the state to share his plans for governorship and to hear the concerns college students may have.

Stein held a video conference for student journalists on Friday. He said his vision would lead him to build an inclusive state by prioritizing students and issues that directly affect N.C. schools.

“Students are an absolutely critical part of North Carolina, a critical part of the election and I want to make sure that young people understand their choices,” Stein said.

The Supreme Court's decision to fund the appropriate amount of money to local school systems was addressed. Stein said that to reach the state's constitutional obligation to young people funding is crucial for a solid basic education.

“Right now we as a state are underfunding all of that and in essence undermining the quality of public education being delivered in North Carolina,” Stein said. The money should be going to education, Stein said, and the court should not be reconsidering that ruling.

Stein said 90 percent of educational funding goes to salaries. He said our teachers' starting pay is lower than the states surrounding NC, and inadequate pay leads to thousands of job vacancies each school year. Stein said he proposes a plan to fill these necessary jobs with capable teachers.

“Leandro is a great opportunity for us to do right by the students with my office was part of negotiating along with the govern and the plaintiffs to come up with the comprehensive plan that is billions of dollars over an eight year period of time that can get North Carolina back up where it needs to be,” Stein said.

He also stresses the importance of other schools staff personnel such as counselors. This highlights Stein's views on the mental health crisis and its effects on students.

“As attorney general I have spent a lot of energy prioritizing youth mental health in a number of different ways,” Stein said. He said he has a webinar series to protect the next generation.

Stein said he also takes a stand against youth addiction ranging from e-cigarettes and opioids to social platforms. He said he was the first attorney general in the country to take Juul, the e-cigarette company, to court.

Substances such as nicotine heighten anxiety and other mental illnesses, Stein said, and that is a key reason he took Juul to court. “They are paying the state of North Carolina 48 millions dollars in order to help young people who are addicted to nicotine overcome that addiction,” Stein said.

The outcome was rules and regulations on how Juul markets and sells their products. Stein was also a part of a bipartisan group who sued Meta for designing their platforms to be addictive.

Stein said that these social platforms create anxiety and depression in the youth. “That is confirmed by Facebook's own internal studies and that is why we have taken them to court to try to get them to redesign the product so it’s less addictive to young people,” Stein said. He said TikTok is being investigated for the same reasons.

He said we need to invest in the institution to make sure the youth of N.C. has the skills they need to be successful. He said this will build our K-12 schools, community colleges and universities.