The North Carolina budget has generated controversy as the legislature aims to reduce government spending while cutting funding for education.
The $19.7 billion state budget—effective July 1—was passed June 15, when the General Assembly overrode Gov. Bev Perdue’s June 12 veto. The two-year budget reduces government expenditures but in doing so has reduced funding for textbooks and supplies, janitorial, clerical and administrative staff as well as cut funding to public higher education.
The budget currently allocates $10.99 billion to public schools, including state and community colleges and universities. This is $248 million less than the amount Perdue suggested in her February budget proposal.
With her veto in early June, Perdue wrote in an accompanying statement that the budget would cause generational damage in North Carolina based on the cuts to education spending and other programs.
“For the first time, we have a legislature that is turning its back on our schools, our children, our longstanding investments on education and our future economic prospects,” she said.
According to the state budget, local school districts must—at their discretion—save $124 million. The University of North Carolina system is also required to make discretionary cuts totaling $414 million.
Although the budget favors spending reduction over tax increases, it only differs from Perdue’s proposal by 2 percent in total expenditures, Rep. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg, wrote in an email Wednesday.
“Moreover, this budget only reduced spending by 4 percent year over year,” Killian added. “In the end, every legislature proposes a budget for the biennium, so this really is just a two-year perspective.”
Killian also noted that changes to education funding should be framed within a larger context.
“You have to think about whether you agree that spending correlates with performance,” he said. “If you look globally, you will find that the U.S. spends near the top tier but performs in the middle tier.”
Durham Public Schools must also prepare to make some personnel cuts this year due to the mandated cutbacks, said Paul LeSieur, executive director of budget management services. In the past, the school district has deferred to personnel cuts over eliminating larger programs.
“The reasoning is you can give up more dollars that way in a quicker fell swoop rather than eliminating your programs,” LeSieur said.
Last year, DPS offset state-mandated cuts with funds from local revenue and the federal economic recovery package, he added. The lack of stimulus funds this year may present a challenge for school officials, as he noted that DPS will likely eliminate the positions of 32 “academic coaches.” These coaches were placed into DPS in order to improve student education and better coordinate instruction. The program was created with funds from the federal stimulus package but will likely be cut as it can no longer be sustained with the schools’ reduced funding.
And though the debate about the budget has largely focused on the impact of public education, terms of the budget also make North Carolina the third state in the nation to defund Planned Parenthood.
The provision to eliminate all $434,000 of state government funding for Planned Parenthood, said Melissa Reed, director of public policy for Planned Parenthood. The amount cut covers 4 percent of Planned Parenthood’s expenditures, though Reed noted that the reduction will still impact the program.
“The State Health Department is unable to meet the primary care needs of all the uninsured and under-insured and rely on Planned Parenthood to provide health services,” she said. “As a result of these cuts, the wait times and quality of care for these individuals will decline.”
Reed added that the provision was approved among a straight party-line vote, noting that Planned Parenthood is considering pursuing legal action.
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