MEET NC ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS LOBBYING TEAM

 

The North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools is the leading state nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement.  The Association is the voice speaking on behalf of the 185 public charter schools to improve state charter policy and to sustain charter flexibility and autonomy.  Our mission is to advance quality educational opportunities for North Carolina’s children by supporting and expanding successful public charter schools.

One of the key benefits of NCAPCS Membership is knowing that you have a voice in Raleigh, advocating on behalf of your school’s needs. We are excited to welcome Kevin Wilkinson, Andy Munn, and Chris Wall of EQV Strategic to the NCAPCS Government Relations Team! The EQV team has a combined 50 years of experience in both federal and state government. Both firm principals began their careers working on Capitol Hill before returning home to their native North Carolina and offering state government affairs services. Now, they’re just as comfortable walking through the U.S. Capitol as they are traversing the General Assembly buildings on Jones Street. Kevin, Andy, and Chris have already hit the ground running, promoting the priorities of the Association’s 2021 Legislative Agenda.

Andy Munn | Principal

Andy Munn is a seasoned government affairs professional with 20 years of experience in both the public and private sector.  He’s worked closely with officials at the federal, state and local levels.  Before forming EQV Strategic, Andy led the Raleigh office of one of the most prominent law firms in the southeast where he directed their government and public affairs strategy.  In this role, he successfully managed accounts for some of the largest corporations in North Carolina.

 During his time in the state legislature, Andy served as Policy Director and Deputy Chief of Staff to two different Speakers of the House.  While in these roles, he helped facilitate some of the state’s most historic policy changes over the past decade.  These include the sweeping tax reform bill passed in 2013, the restructuring of the state’s economic development incentives program and the reformation of the state’s Unemployment Insurance system.  He also oversaw the budget development process for House leadership in 2015 and 2016.

 Prior to his work in Raleigh, Andy spent several years managing state and local government affairs for a real estate focused trade association as well as a large international industrial manufacturing company.

 Andy is a native North Carolinian and a graduate of Appalachian State University.  He and his wife, Amy, have three sons, Henry (11), Jack (8) and Charlie (4).  In his free time he enjoys coaching his sons’ soccer teams, cooking, fishing and all things outdoors.

Chris brings an extensive resume working in the North Carolina federal delegation and government relations for major North Carolina industry sectors. Chris started his career in Washington, DC, where he served as a senior staffer to Senator Richard Burr, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx and Congressman Robin Hayes.  He gained political experience in the office of Congressman Robin Hayes as Deputy Campaign Manager, where he directed grassroots and constituent outreach efforts. Upon leaving Capitol Hill, Chris went in-house with one of the largest agriculture trade associations in the country, the National Pork Producers Council, where he was the point person on all of their major issues before congress.  He quickly became a key specialist on international trade deals, as well as how to best navigate the alphabet soup of regulatory agencies.

 Chris served as the senior lobbyist for the National Pork Producers Council, where he was involved in coalition building, leading congressional whip operations, strategy development, and day-to-day management of lobbying efforts.  Upon returning to his native North Carolina, Wall joined one of the largest government affairs firms, managing a broad portfolio of clients and has developed close, personal relationships with state House, Senate and Administration officials.  Chris was very honored to be acknowledged by The Hill newspaper as one of Washington, DC’s Top Lobbyist of 2019.

Kevin Wilkinson | SVP, Government Affairs Mr. Freeman represents clients on a variety of topics before the North Carolina legislature and executive branch.  Nelson joined the firm from the Office of North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore (R – Cleveland County).  He was Speaker Moore’s top advisor on tax policy, information technology policy, Alcohol Beverage Control, and economic development.  During his time with Speaker Moore, Nelson was integral to the negotiations of the four major tax bills in 2017 including the enactment of a personal income tax cut to the lowest rate in the Southeast and corporate tax reduction to the lowest in the country for those states that have a corporate tax.

WORKING TO:  Protect parents’ right to choose the best educational setting for their children. Allow school leaders to operate their schools with as much flexibility as possible to meet the needs of their students. Ensure public funding follows the student. Support new and existing charter schools. Promote public charter schools as a school choice option. Inform policymakers of the positive difference public charter schools are making in the lives of their students. Fight proposed legislation that limits charter school flexibility and autonomy. Increase funding to create parity with district schools.

What is a charter school?

 A: Charter schools are nontraditional public schools. One of the key differences between charter schools and traditional public schools, or district schools, is the way they are governed. District schools are governed by a school district board while charter schools are governed by a board specifically for that school. As a result, these schools have more flexibility in their curriculum. This explains why you hear of some charter schools with a focus on the arts, science, technology, a certain culture, or a certain educational methodology (i.e. Classical, Montessori, Flipped Classroom). However, because charter schools receive public funds, they are still required to meet state testing requirements.

Q: How many charter schools are in NC?

 A: As of the 2018-2019 school year, there are 185 charter schools in the state, educating over 100,000 NC students with over 50,000 on waiting lists.

Q: What does the Association do?

 A: The North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools (NCAPCS) is the leading charter school membership organization in the state. Created from the merger of the NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the NC Public Charter Schools Association, NCAPCS is dedicated to advancing quality educational opportunities for all children in North Carolina by supporting and expanding successful charter schools. NCAPCS serves as an advocate on behalf of all North Carolina public charter schools in addition to providing a broad spectrum of technical support, mentoring, training, networking, and purchasing services to its membership.

Q: Is the number of charter schools in NC growing?

 A: Absolutely! Although charter schools have existed in NC since 1996, there has been significant growth since the state Legislature lifted the 100-charter-school cap in 2011. Since then, about a dozen new schools have been opening each year. At this rate, the state expects to exceed 200 within the next couple of years.