Over the past few weeks, the General Assembly has been inundated with phone calls and letters focusing on the budget.
Many communications come from supporters of public education pleading that the General Assembly increase taxes rather than adopt draconian cuts. This newsletter will specifically focus on the K-12 budget under consideration by the House and the Senate.
In order to better understand the budgetary process, it is important to familiarize yourself with the documents that legislators use for the budgeting process. The two central documents are the Money Report and Special Provisions. The Money Report identifies all budgetary increases and decreases. The Special Provisions document includes all statutory changes adopted to guide budgetary expenditures and also includes new policy initiatives. The Senate money report and the Senate special provisions are as follows:
The K-12 section of the Money Report for the Senate is on pages 14-20 at this hyperlink
The K-12 section of the Special Provisions for the Senate is on pages 21-37 at this hyperlink.
HOUSE FINALLY PASSES A BUDGET
Early Saturday morning the House of Representatives passed its version of the state budget by a margin of 64-52. The House money report and the House special provisions are as follows:
The K-12 section of the Money Report for the House is on pages 19-26.
The K-12 section of the Special Provisions for the House is on pages 29-50.
After two months of developing a budget with no tax increases, the House relented and adopted a budget that contained a mix of cuts in services and an increase in taxes. A separate bill was used to provide for $784 million in tax increases with the specific programs that would be restored as a result of these tax increases. Go to this hyperlink.
At last week’s Senate Education Committee, I introduced an amendment, which passed, requiring North Carolina History to be retained in the 8th grade and that U.S. History is integrated into the curriculum. The amendment passed without objection. A copy of the amendment is here.
From 1985-1987, I taught 8th grade N.C. History and believe our state’s rich history needs to be taught as a separate course. I took two weeks alone to present the history of the Lost Colony. Lenoir Community College had a genealogical research division so I required my students to do research on their family’s history. One of my students discovered she was related to George Durant, one of the leaders in the anti-tax Culpepper Rebellion. I utilized the “Roots” film series and had an opportunity to take some of my students to meet Alex Haley who was speaking at East Carolina University. My students engaged in mock trials that included but were not limited to the Culpepper Rebellion, Cary Rebellion, the Regulator War, and Nat Turner’s Revolt.
WHAT WOULD OUR TEACHERS SAY IF THEY KNEW WE CAST A VOTE TO CUT EDUCATION?
A few weeks ago, I discovered the world of Facebook. It has opened a door to my past as I have had an opportunity to reconnect with my former K-12 classmates and teachers. I have also reconnected with many students that I taught in Kinston, North Carolina. Last week, I received the following comment from my high school drama teacher Bill Oliver:
“Hi, Douglas. If this is bitter, so be it. The fact that legislators are discussing the possibility of reducing teaching staff, increasing class size, and curtailing programs shows that we do not value education. Such discussion and enactment are reprehensible. No excuses. Anything said to defend the proposition must honestly come with the comment that we do not value our children and their education. Bill”
Needless to say it was not pleasant to receive such criticism from someone who played an inspirational role in my life. Bill Oliver’s 12th grade Dramatics Course was the most challenging class I had, but it prepared me for the rigors of college coursework. As part of our class, we performed the play production of “Man of La Mancha.” One of my classmates, Don Hobart, played the lead role of Don Quixote. As some of you may recall, the character Don Quixote was a visionary who challenged everyone to “Dream the Impossible Dream”. Today, Don Hobart serves as a key advisor to the Governor in his position as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Perdue.
I suspect Bill’s words are reverberating through Governor Perdue’s office as it has mine. From the outset, Governor Perdue has expressed opposition to decreasing classroom sizes by cutting teacher positions. Typically, the House and Senate negotiate between their respective positions during the Conference Committee. However, this is an atypical year. We need to come up with an additional $264 million to avoid making cuts in classroom sizes.
THIS WEEK’S COMMITTEE SCHEDULE
Please take a look at the bills that are scheduled to be heard in committee this week. If there is a bill that you feel passionately about, please let me know. I would be happy to discuss it with you.
Tuesday, June 16th
Judiciary II
HB 578 Partition Sales/Commrs., Sellers, Buyers
HB 581 Partition Sales/Extend Report & Answer Times
HB 1091 Clarify Action for Divorce/Incompetent Spouse
HB 1112 Amend Birth Registration Requirements
HB 1377 Taxpayer Optimization Act
Commerce
SB 829 Regulation of Appraisal Management Companies
HB 723 Electronic Reporting of Abandoned Property
HB 746 Amend Professional Counselors Act/Fees
HB 749 Use of Cisterns in Construction/Renovation
HB 1034 Allow Recorded Phone Messages/Public Safety
HB 1035 UNC Performance & Payment Bond Modification
HB 1409 Building Code Exclusion/Certain Wiring
HB 1410 Building Code Exclusion/Hot Water Heaters
HB 1478 Design Professional Seals/Public Records
HB 1485 Insurance/Health Care Provider Relationship
Wednesday, June 17th
Education
HB 348 Modify Educ. Requirement/School Bd. Members
HB 543 No Penalty for Comm. Coll. Audit Exception
HB 1446 Amend Law Re: School Improvement Plans
SB 485 Community College Developmental Courses
SB 860 Student Trust Fund/Proprietary Schools
Health Care
HB 703 Disapprove NCMB Rule/Pet. Pub. Certain Japs
HB 819 Polysomnography Practice Act
HB 672 Accountability for State Funding/MH/DD/SA
HB 1187 DHHS Technical Changes/Health Care Personnel
HB 1186 DHHS/Update current inspection practices
As always I welcome your comments on this newsletter or anything else that concerns you. My office is here to help in whatever manner we can. It is an honor to serve as your Senator and I will do everything in my power to live up to that honor.
Sincerely,
Doug Berger