Governor Perdue has become the first North Carolina governor to veto a budget bill since the position was given power in 1997. You can read the full statement on the article at our website. She specifically cites education cuts as the reason.
We’d like to remind all that this afternoon hosts a 7pm city council meeting, and a 7pm Vance county school board meeting. The Vance County budget work session scheduled for this afternoon has been canceled.
The agenda for the city council meeting is here
The agenda for the school board meeting is here
We have a reporter for the city council meeting able to attend, however we do not have one for the school board. If you attend and are so inclined, feel free to report on tomorrows open line. If you’d like to become an official ‘reporter’ please contact me.
We’d also like to remind all to respect each others opinions and be civil in your disagreements.
Welcome to the Monday Open Line!
Kind of ironic that this has happened for the first time to a budget bill since 1997. All Demoncrats, until this year with a Republican controled House and Senate. Now isn’t this strange? Demoncrat Governor………. Democrat House and Senate, no veto. Demoncrat Gorvernor……… Republican House and Senate for the first time since the Civil War, veto. Strange, strange, strange.
Took some time to read the newest State budget this weekend. Can only say “wow”, More changes that most citiizens can fathom until they actually happen. Don’t think the Gov’s veto is just a Democrat’s view vs. a Republican “less gov’t: showdown. This budget is personal,a good example, From Senator Berger’s newsletter:
The Senate approved a measure last week that will deny teachers and retired teachers the ability to have N.C. Association of Educators dues deducted from their paychecks by the state.
This legislation is aimed at punishing educators for daring to criticize politicians who are gutting the public school system with deep budgetary cuts.
During a broadcast of what was supposed to be a closed meeting of House Republicans on Friday, Speaker Thom Tillis said the NCAE would feel the GOP’s wrath when that chamber approves the bill.
“We just want to give them a little taste of what’s about to come,” he said.
An estimated 500 other organizations will continue the benefit of having the state collect money to go to their different causes.
I am for the budget bill cuts plus the 1 cent sales tax. We need to keep it also. That takes from everyone. Now that will add to the revenue. Education makes up the bulk of the budget. Only stands to reason that will have the most cuts. We need to get our spending under control.
Get spending under control? I agree, but here’s another example of how our new legislature is very hypocritical.
139,950—amount in dollars of the salary of Governor Beverly Perdue (Ratified version of House Bill 200, Appropriations Act of 2011, 06/04/2011)
140,000—amount in dollars of salary of Jason Lay, counsel to House Speaker Thom Tillis after recent 27 percent raise (“N.C. House Speaker Tillis gives his staff fat raises, Raleigh News & Observer, June 11, 2011)
150,000—amount in dollars of salary of Charles Thomas, Chief of Staff to House Speaker Thom Tillis after recent 27 percent raise. (“N.C. House Speaker Tillis gives his staff fat raises, Raleigh News & Observer, June 11, 2011)
27% raises, that doesn’t sound like a savings attitude to me.
What was it the Who said, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”.
Education may be the bulk of the budget, but when finances get tough in my house, I tighten my belt, not my kids’ belts. The Republicans want to take food off of the kids’ plates and feed it to the adults in the university system who are better able to fend for themselves.
These cuts will make our kids less competitive for good-paying jobs in industry, which I suppose is the idea behind the cuts. Less education = less wages, less benefits, and less likely to demand safe working conditions.
Welcome to North Carolina: Sweatshop of the Southeast!
I think you are nuts. Also, if what Mingo says is true, no matter who is in power it is the same ol’ same ol’, true? Then why play Demoncrat against Republican? Why veto now when the same ol’ is the same ol’? Just politics, that’s all it is. Which by the way was my point in the beginning.
You just literally demonized Democrats (“Demoncrats”) and you want to put the Republicans above party politics? You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Condolences to the Richard Pearce family.
Anon1, remember: when the education establishment talks in terms of x number of taxpayer dollars spent per pupil, it is not the kids who get the money — it’s the teachers. With budget cuts, teachers may have to do their jobs without an assistant, which is pretty much the way it was years ago when kids came out of high school knowing more than they do today, coming out of college. Teachers who have to “contribute” to their own benefits’ package is pretty much the way it’s been for many years for people who do not work for the government. These cuts are not going to hurt the kids. The teachers who are there because they want to teach will still be there, doing a good job. The teachers who are there for the benefits may be a little disrguntled, but one look at the jobs market elsewhere may make them grateful they have a job.
As for good paying jobs in industry? Where are those jobs? Not anywhere around here.
Lucy, you’re spreading false information. Most teachers already do their jobs without assistants. Also, teachers contribute 6% of their earnings to their retirement fund. They contribute to health insurance and other benefits through their tax dollars.
I think you’ll find that most of the overhead in the private sector is employee compensation. Why should education be different?
The only reason the retirement fund is as solvent as it is is that most teachers quit in the first three years of teaching because of the bad conditions. They leave the interest they earned on their retirement contribution in the account when they take their principle because they do not serve enough years to become vested.
Teachers contribute 100% to all other retirement savings accounts.
Teachers should not teach for substandard wages because of a love of teaching. They should teach because they are extremely competent and well-compensated for the skills they bring to the job. The private sector rewards excellence with money, not a pat on the head. Why are you opposed to rewarding public sector workers the same way?
This Fox News propaganda about these fatcat teachers sucking up all of the education dollars is ridiculous. Teachers make consistently less than similarly-educated employees in the private sector. Just check out the salary schedule:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/fbs/finance/salary/schedules/2010-11schedules.pdf
If you want to cut some fat, how about overturning some of these idiotic unfunded mandates like No Child Left Behind or North Carolina’s EOC testing program? You could shed a whole layer of bureaucracy by getting rid of these meaningless standards.
The Budget is austere, but reasonable. It also is only a few percentage points off on education from the Gov’s own proposal. Bev will still get lots of time to play with her VETO stamp as she rejects most of the bills passed by the General Assembly in which the House can’t override her whims.