The Rant’s July 2025 cover story on Grace Christian School doubling tuition after receiving the most public funds of any private school in the state won three North Carolina Press Association awards, the organization announced. 

“State of Grace” detailed the unprecedented success of Grace Christian School — a private K-12 school whose enrollment has tripled in size since the pandemic — and uncovered instances of the school taking advantage of the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship, a state tuition program designed to help families afford private education. 

Written by Billy Liggett with additional reporting by Gordon Anderson, “State of Grace” won first place for education reporting, second place for enterprise reporting and third place in the state for investigative reporting. The story also featured interviews with parents whose children were denied enrollment based on “administrative prerogative” and former faculty members who accused the school of firing or not extending their contracts for not “falling in line” with recent decisions made by the school.

Grace Christian School led the state in Opportunity Scholarship funding for three consecutive years between 2022-2025. The school took in more than $10.4 million in public funds over the three years, nearly half of that in the 2024-2025 school year alone (numbers have not been released for 2026 funding). 

The article was published on the heels of an announcement by the Grace Christian School of a nearly $100 million expansion project that will include new buildings and athletics facilities to keep up with their fast-growing enrollment.

The Rant won two additional N.C. Press Awards this year — Billy Liggett earned second place for column writing, and Liggett, Anderson, Richard Sullins and Jonathan Owens earned second place for overall community coverage.

NCPA’s contest continues to be one of the largest in the country with more than 4,000 entries from over 125 newspapers and news organizations from across the Tar Heel state. 

The Rant joined NCPA in September 2021, nearly two years after launching The Rant Monthly publication. The paper earned six N.C. Press awards during its first year in the organization in 2022, and has won 17 awards total since.

Founded in 1873, the NCPA is a nonprofit organization representing the interests of North Carolina newspapers, their employees, and the communities they serve. NCPA works to protect First Amendment freedoms, open government rights, and to support strong, independent journalism across the state.