The CEO of an online educational gaming company donated more than $40,000 combined to the North Carolina Republican Party and the North Carolina Republican Senate Caucus, around the same time his company, Plasma Games, received $6.3 million in the last two state budgets.
aims to teach middle and high school science standards through an online platform and classroom materials. Hunter Moore, the company鈥檚 founder and CEO, said the donations and the allocations in the state budgets were unrelated.
鈥淎ny donations that I have made have nothing to do with our business,鈥� Moore told 瓜神app.
Moore conceived of the science-based game while pursuing an MBA at UNC-Chapel Hill, and he received a state contract for a pilot launch in Fall 2020. Moore says at the time he presented his business model to Democratic and Republican politicians, which he says garnered bipartisan support.
However, the for Plasma Games鈥� pilot program never received a full vote by the General Assembly, and the company never bid for a state contract. Lawmakers instead voted on funding for Plasma Games as a line item in state budgets that are many hundreds of pages long.
In the most recent two state budgets in 2021 and 2023, Plasma Games received $2.5 million and $4.8 million respectively, to fund grants to public schools to use its online platform and materials.
In October of 2022, just as federal money for the pilot program was running out and before state money was allocated, Moore gave $35,000 to the North Carolina Republican Party, and another $5,600 to North Carolina Republican Senate caucus, according to .
Prior to those large donations, Moore had been an infrequent and small donor to Republicans, giving $700 in 2019 to Paul Newby, a candidate for NC Supreme Court, and a total of $450 to Dan Forest in his race for governor in 2020.
State education officials report Plasma Games funding has gone unused
Last week, state education officials reported that public schools largely aren鈥檛 using the grant funding they鈥檝e received to get licenses for students to log in to the game, but Plasma Plasma Games is seeking full payment of the $3 million allocated in the last state budget for the program .
In a to the General Assembly, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) reports that among the 22 school districts that received grants to access Plasma Games in Fall 2023, 69% of student licenses purchased had never been used by students.
鈥淲e're paying for a program that students aren't using,鈥� Deputy State Superintendent Michael Maher told the state board of education last Thursday.
Maher says public schools in the grant program didn鈥檛 provide evidence for any improvements in student academic outcomes, or any evidence of increased student interest in STEM career fields, which is Plasma Games鈥� stated goal.
As of January, DPI reports that $1.25 million in state funds has already been paid to Plasma Games for student licenses that weren鈥檛 used.
Maher told the state board that he met with Plasma Games CEO Hunter Moore about the contract. Maher said in that meeting, Moore argued that DPI should pay Plasma Games the full funds that were allocated to the company in the state budget.
鈥淲e did have a meeting with the vendor and a legislator where this was all expressed to us that in effect, we're not fulfilling the requirement of the law, which I think we are,鈥� Maher said.
DPI provided confirmation of the meeting to 瓜神app in the form of a screenshot of Maher鈥檚 calendar that shows Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston), chair of the House education appropriations committee, attended the meeting. Torbett did not respond to a request for comment from 瓜神app.
鈥淲e have since been told that their funding model has changed,鈥� Maher told the state board, explaining that Plasma Games expected more funding than received.
鈥淕ood luck with that,鈥� responded the board鈥檚 vice chair Alan Duncan.
鈥淚t has been frustrating for both the department and the board at a time of significant needs for resources that these were pegged in such a direct way,鈥� Duncan added. 鈥淔or whatever reason, our districts are not voting with their feet to embrace this particular approach.鈥�
Most of the school districts in the pilot program never applied again for future grants.
Moore told 瓜神app that public school teachers are using Plasma Games鈥� platform and supporting classroom materials 鈥渇our times more鈥� than state education officials have reported, but that the usage is not reflected in student log-ins.
Moore said half of teachers who use Plasma Games in their classroom use offline materials, such as readings and homework assignments that they can print out. Moore also noted that DPI鈥檚 report on student log-ins only accounts for one of two semesters in the 2023-2024 school year, and he said Plasma Games also serves teachers in school districts that did not apply for grants.
Correction: This article has been corrected with the correct amount for which Plasma Games is seeking payment. It is $3 million.
