Some progressives groaned when Governor Josh Stein announced a bipartisan “Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education” last week.

“Does NC Really Need Another Commission to Study Public Education?” asked Public Schools First NC.

Yes, we do – if we want to break the political logjam that has blocked education progress in North Carolina for too long.

Stein’s move is good policy – and smart politics.

The late Governor Jim Hunt – a master at building coalitions for education – would approve. In fact, he did what Governor Stein is doing.

Stein is playing a long game here.

He’s playing the only game there is.

Last May, he praised the Republican-led House for passing a budget that raised average teachers’ pay 8.7% and increased beginning teachers’ salaries even more.

The Governor persuaded 27 House Democrats to vote for the budget, which passed by 96-20.

But the Republican Senate balked, and no budget has passed.

Now, Stein has joined with House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger to appoint a 30-member commission that is to report before the 2027 legislative session.

“This commission represents a bipartisan commitment and an opportunity to make North Carolina’s public schools the best in the nation,” the Governor said.

If this year’s elections go well for Democrats, there will be enough Democrats in the legislature to sustain his vetoes.

And Senator Berger may be gone.

That could lead to bipartisan negotiations and compromise.

I’ve seen that work.

Over and over, Governor Hunt built bipartisan coalitions – and brought together business leaders, educators and elected officials, as this new commission does.

When Hunt was Lieutenant Governor in the early 1970s, he worked with Republican Governor Jim Holshouser and Democrats in the legislature to raise teachers’ pay and establish statewide public kindergartens.

In the early 1980s, he appointed a blue-ribbon Commission on Education for Economic Growth that built bipartisan support for more spending on schools.

In his third term, 1993-1997, he worked to get Republican support for Smart Start.

In his fourth term, he persuaded Republican House Speaker Harold Brubaker not only to support raising teacher pay to the national average, but also sponsor the legislation.

There was always give and take.

With more money and higher pay came higher standards and more accountability.

Republicans wanted Hunt to show there was local and private support for Smart Start, and he did.

Progressives today are right that the legislature and the Supreme Court should fully fund public schools and stop funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into private-school vouchers.

That would be an ideal world.

Governor Stein is operating in the real world.