Our Informer

With Rep. Mark Hilton of Conover presiding, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education began a review of a proposed state budget sent down by the top writers in the House and Senate. The subcommittee looked at a draft that cut state funding for public schools, community colleges, and universities by $1.1 billion. The plan would trim money to public schools by 8.8 percent, community colleges by 10 percent and the university system by 15.5 percent. Teachers, teaching assistants, administrators, faculty members, and support personnel would lose their jobs. The exact number is still being calculated.

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The Manufacturing Solutions Center at Catawba Valley Community College was trimmed by 10 percent, losing just over $52,000 of its state support. The Hickory Higher Education Center was put in the university budget with an appropriation of $264,300. Among programs being totally eliminated are the Teacher Academy, mentoring programs for new teachers, school planning , the Governor’s Education Cabinet, NCCAT, and the Office of Early Learning. Gone. Zipped. Scores of other programs were axed or received a haircut of 25 percent or more.

The budget writers backed away from limiting funding of LEAs (school systems) to one per county. Catawba is one of six counties that has more than one system. “We didn’t want to balance the budget on the backs of counties,” Hilton explained.

The money outline was accompanied by a Special Provision document which Republicans had vowed to eliminate. But the document follows the money and includes language that reflects the mood of the new majority. For example, in a section called “Safe and Orderly Schools” the top chairs indicated they wanted a clear path to “restoring safety and an orderly learning environment in schools.” A parent organization can file a request for the school system to address discipline problems and if the school board declines to act, the state would send in an “assistance team.” Also the provisions says that a principal must allow parents of children in the school to review the budget for the school.

Discipline problems, the learning atmosphere, and attitudes of public school administrators have been cited by advocates for Charter Schools. Apparently the message from budget writers to schools is “get your act together.”

OTHER AGENCIES AND THEIR BUDGETS: The Department of Health and Human Services was cut and also assigned new programs, including the pre-school More at Four. Major changes are mandated with DHHS services. Cultural Resources was cut by 15 percent and Grass Roots funding for local programs was slashed 23 percent. Public television at UNC was slashed by over 50 percent and was advised that all funding would disappear in FY 2012-13. The N.C. Rural Center and the Department of Commerce had reductions of 15 to 25 percent.

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…BUT IT HAS JUST BEGUN: Next week committees will engage in debates and entertain some amendments. But with Republicans holding a controlling majority, few changes are likely. The process will go to the Senate the week after Easter and some changes are likely, especially for some relief to the university system.

‘BRING ME THE STAMP AND A GALLON OF RED INK’ : Gov. Perdue has demonstrated her willingness to use the veto. This week she vetoed two bills: one requiring state employees to contribute to their insurance and the other that would let community colleges opt out of federal loan programs. With Republicans determined not to include a sales tax to offset some cuts, it appears likely the governor will use the veto, delaying the Republicans-annnounced deadline for a June 1 budget.

And so the lawmakers face another prospect of a Long Hot Summer.

PISTOL PACKIN’ SERGEANTS: Traditionally, the halls of the Legislature have been open to The People. Young, old, rich, poor, farmers, retirees, professionals, anyone have been able to walk the halls and make their case to the legislators. Now some lawmakers think this openness is an invitation to trouble. So now floating around is a proposal to allow the House and Senate staff in the Sergeant at Arms offices to carry a concealed gun. This comes after a bill that would allow people to carry a concealed weapon in bars and restaurants introduced by Rep. Hilton.

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Eyebrows were raised when Charles Thomas, chief of staff to Speaker Thom Tillis appeared before a committee in support of the bill arming the sergeants-at-arms. Thomas is not a legislator and was reminded of this by an angry senator following his presentation.

Subcommittees were still scheduled to meet when the top Republican budget chairs in the N.C. House and Senate filed bills Tuesday that was loaded with surprises and also expectations. House Bill 584 and Senate Bill 500 has the short title “The Governor’s Budget.” The longer titles says the bill is a base budget for state operations “and other purposes.” Read the rest of this entry »

Brent Lane, director of the UNC Center for Competitive Economies, is a straight-talking, no-nonsense personality and this week he minced no words with Legislators in an appropriations meeting for Natural and Economic Resources. North Carolina, he said, is in the doldrums and dropping further down each day. His statistics were disconcerting.

Wages are down in all areas except arts and entertainment and agriculture when compared to U.S. averages. Financial sector salaries are down by 23 percent and even healthcare personnel in N.C. are earning less. In only three counties in the state are workers earnings matching the U.S. average. Since 2008, our wages have fallen from 92.8 percent of U.S. per capita income to 87 percent. If our trend continues, we will be earning 79 percent of national income average in 2014 which is where we were in 1969.
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The Appropriations Committee working on the state education budget now is looking at options to trim $1.4 billion from operations of public schools, community colleges and the university system. These cuts would offset the loss of revenue from the one-cent sales tax that expires June 30. Some of the public school options:

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The line in the sand has been drawn between Gov. Beverly Perdue and the Republican majority legislators and the battle to develop the 2011 – 2012 budget has begun. The governor wants to use a three-quarters percent sales tax to preserve public education, with some cuts to the university system. A new priority for community colleges would be the “Career High Schools” which would mainline performing students into a two-year community colleges degree program—at no cost to the student. As far as the GOP leadership is concerned, the governor’s budget was dead on arrival. They are working on a spending plan that eliminates the tax and cuts education spending by $700 million. Read the rest of this entry »

Republican leaders in the General Assembly are setting a fast-paced agenda. This week the majority released a calendar that has the state budget being adopted by June 1. Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee were given rules and deadlines this week. The House is to approved the 2011-12 spending plan by April 22; the Senate on May 13, and final approval June 1. This would be the earliest the state budget has been approved in recent memory.

Committees have been told that no expansion items (new programs) are permitted. There is to be no “management flexibility” allowed. And there will be no special provisions that involve spending or policy changes. Read the rest of this entry »

The news and trends have not been good for Democrats. Polls show that nationally likely voters prefer Republicans over Democrats to solve the nation’s economic morass by 10 percentage points or more. Shrill right-wing bloggers type hate messages in response to newspaper stories. In Nevada, Sharon Angle has raised $14 million in the last quarter to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Even some high-profile Republican leaders earlier this year described Angle as a nut case.

And yet. Read the rest of this entry »

Marshall Cohen, a nationally-recognized forecaster of trends, was speaking at a gathering of hosiery manufacturers and suppliers this week and made a startling observation: Americans had better get used to it: our economic climate represents the new norm for the United States. Expect permanent unemployment rates of 10 per cent and if you are in the Hickory Metro area, it will be greater. There will be less money and fewer banks.

Jobs will continue to disappear. ATM machines mean banks need fewer tellers. Self-checkout stations in big box stores translate to fewer cashiers. In manufacturing, technology will assure that most jobs lost in the past decade are gone forever. President Obama and Democrats can’t change the course and neither can Republicans despite their “pledge with America.” Read the rest of this entry »

What if voters elected two Democratic members to the N.C. House of Representatives this fall? What if retiring Rep. Ray Warren is successful in his efforts to help David Munday of Taylorsville and former Conover Police Chief Gary Lafone?

That would put Catawba County solidly in the majority party caucus under the leadership of House Speaker Joe Hackney. And it would give Hickory another effective conduit into state government, following the four effective years of Warren. The strength of that effort will be seen at a reception October 7 to raise campaign funds for Munday and Lafone. The $250 per person event will be held at the home of Heather and Lyndon Helton, with Martha and Paul Fogleman as co-hosts. Considering the benefits the area received as a result of Warren’s untiring activity, the price of the ticket is a reasonable investment. Read the rest of this entry »

Like Cinderella, North Carolina legislators were keeping an eye on the clock as it approached midnight Friday. Adjournment was ticking away, with two of the most important bills of the session (other than the budget) still on the floor. But is was long after midnight—about 5:32 a.m. Saturday—when the sergeants at arms opened doors to both House and Senate so that Speaker Joe Hackney and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton could simultaneously adjourn sine die.

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