Sen. Berger’s Greetings from Raleigh


In this week’s edition of the newsletter I will be giving you an update on what has been happening here at the General Assembly recently.

First I am going to talk about what the General Assembly has done so far on the State’s Budget. Then I wanted to let you know about some visits I have recently made to schools in the district. Lastly, I wanted to discuss a specific budget item that was brought to my attention by a constituent.

STATE BUDGET UPDATE

Negotiations have begun between the House and Senate to reconcile our budgetary differences. The General Assembly plans to complete the budget prior to the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2010. As you may recall, the budget must include cuts totaling over $800 million to make up for a projected shortfall in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The Joint House and Senate Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations met last Thursday afternoon and most of Friday attempting to resolve our differences. Senator Bill Purcell of Scotland County and I co-chair this subcommittee. The first major issue that we have begun detailed discussions with the House involve eliminating current administrative positions in the Department of Health and Human Services that oversee the 2 Schools for the Deaf and the School for the Blind. The Senate eliminated these positions and transferred these three schools to be placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Instruction. Currently, most children who attend one of the Schools for the Deaf do not graduate with a high school degree. This week we will meet with both the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, June Atkinson, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary, Lanier Cansler, to discuss the logistics of this transfer

The most significant differences between the House and Senate budgets are as follows: The Senate budget fully funds restoration of the $40 million cut from crisis services provided through Local Management Entities (LMEs) and allocates an additional $12 million to purchase hospital beds in local communities so that the mentally ill who need to undergo short term hospitalization can do so in their communities. The House budget only partially restores the cut in crisis services, in the amount of $18 million and includes no money for hospital bed expansion. The Senate budget includes an additional $6.5 million to cover an additional 2700 children with heath insurance whereas the House budget would require removing health insurance coverage from over 1000 children. While the Senate increased funding for the aforementioned items, the Senate cut Smart Start by $15 million whereas the House made no such cut. The Senate cut non-medical Personal Care Services by $59.5 million whereas the House limited their cut to $34 million.

DISTRICT SCHOOL VISITS

Henderson Middle School

Two weeks ago I was invited to speak to Mr. Jackson Olsen’s 8th grade history class at Henderson Middle School. Mr. Olsen, a Utah native, is a Teach for America graduate who is in his first year of teaching. Prior to teaching Mr. Olsen performed Mormon missionary work and served as an intern for the recently deceased Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. I shared with the class that I started my professional career as an eighth grade history teacher and that their teacher might one day become a legislator as well. The students had prepared questions on such subjects as offshore oil drilling, stopping motorists because of their Hispanic appearance, and curfews for teenagers. I discussed with them laws that the General Assembly had either considered or passed that affected teenagers such as the banning of violent video games, the banning of the use of cell phones, and funding of teacher salaries.

Granville Central High School

This past week I met with a group of teachers at Granville Central High School to discuss the current budget and other issues of concern. The meeting was prompted by a thoughtful letter I received from English teacher Barry Moore who had expressed dismay over the continuing threat of potential cuts in education. I reported to these teachers that both the House and Senate were committed to protecting classroom teachers. I informed them that lottery money that had been restricted to use for school construction would be available to protect classroom teacher positions. We had a spirited discussion concerning the amount of testing being required in the public schools. Teachers expressed concerns that the tests were consuming too much instructional time and that teachers felt pressed to teach to the test. We talked about the level of anxiety students were experiencing and that students with special needs were being required to take tests that they have no realistic opportunity to pass. In the most recent version of the House’s Budget there has been a proposed elimination of state-administered tests in the following subjects; Civics and Economics, Geometry, Physical Science, and United States History. If this proposal is adopted it will save the state almost $3 million and will likely address some of the issues that were presented by these teachers.

We also talked about parental responsibility as it particularly related to school attendance. The suggestion was made that schools should have truant officers that ensure children attend school. I shared with them an approach that I took when I was a district attorney in Johnston County. Parents were regularly charged with a misdemeanor offense for the failure of their children to attend school. In all cases, parents charged with this offense were placed in jail in an Orange jumpsuit. The child was then required to visit their parent in jail. I told them I would share this approach with my constituents and see if it should be adopted in our judicial district.

STUDENT ASSESMENT DEVICES

Student Assessment Device

Mrs. Cunningham demonstrating device to Ms. Desmera Gatewood

The top photograph above is a picture of the Student Assessment Device. Pictured below that photograph is Mrs. Cunningham demonstrating the device’s use to Ms. Desmera Gatewood, an intern in my office and coincidentally a former student of Mrs. Cunningham.

Governor Perdue proposed in her budget a $39 million appropriation to provide some elementary school teachers with hand-held diagnostic assessment devices. Under the Governor’s budget every elementary school teacher in grades K-3 and grade 5 would be supplied with this assessment tool. The device is designed to ensure that basic deficiencies in reading and math are identified and addressed before students graduate to middle school. The Senate’s budget included a smaller appropriation for the program, $15 million. The House of Representatives did not include any funding for the assessment tool.

On June 2, Mrs. Renee Cunningham, a Mathematics Consultant for the Department of Instruction, demonstrated the device for me and my staff. Ms. Cunningham is a constituent of mine from Townsville in Vance County. As Mrs. Cunningham described it, “the beauty of these assessments is that they illuminate a child’s understanding of key math concepts. For the teacher, the PDA/handheld makes the data instantly available so that a teacher can match classroom experiences with their students’ level of understanding.” I appreciate the importance of teachers having this device to assess students’ weaknesses in reading and math before entering middle school.

Currently, every Kindergarten, 1st Grade and 2nd Grade teacher in Vance and Warren Counties has access to the hand-held diagnostic assessment devices. In Franklin County, 3 out of 8 elementary schools have the assessment device for their students in grades K-3. However, none of the elementary schools in Granville County have the device.

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As always, I look forward to your thoughts and comments on the issues discussed in the newsletter. Please feel free to respond to any issue, whether it was covered in the newsletter or not. It is an honor to serve as your State Senator, and I will do everything in my power to live up to that honor.

Sincerely,

Signature

Doug Berger