| Legislative
Bulletin |
APRIL
20, 2001 |
 |
 Budget
ax may fall on education
The
public schools, universities and communities colleges have
identified $290 million that could be cut from their budgets
to help the state close a hole in next year’s budget.
However, education leaders warn that cutting their budgets by
that amount would force 2,500 job cuts and wipe out much of
the progress the state has achieved in school improvements.
The education community was staggered by news that the heads
of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on
education last week had quietly directed the State Board of
Education, the Department of Community Colleges and the UNC
System to identify where $290 million could be cut from their
budgets. The k-12 schools and the universities each were told
to identify $125 million in cuts while the community colleges
were told to find $40 million in reductions.
The three systems responded to the requests this week by
identifying programs and budget line items that could be
reduced. However, the responses came with bleak warnings about
the consequences of reductions of that magnitude.
The Department of Public Instruction released a letter by
State Board of Education Chairman Phil Kirk and state
Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Ward that said the
requested cuts threaten the progress made in education.
"Such reductions run counter to Gov. Easley's promise
that services to children would not suffer as the state went
about the business of identifying sources to balance the
budget," they wrote. Read
the text of that letter.
Kirk and Ward said in the letter that the board is not
endorsing any of the cuts and they are not prioritized.
Sen. Walter Dalton (D-Rutherford), a co-chair of the
Appropriations subcommittee on education, said he hopes the
cuts won’t be needed but the legislature won’t know for
sure until next month as the state nears the end of its fiscal
year. But he said the legislature had to draft a balanced
budget and that education is where most of the spending goes.
Dalton said House and Senate leaders are looking for $376
million in cuts from next year's continuation budget because
they are unsure if Gov. Easley can deliver on all the revenue
projected in his proposed budget, including $150 million by
closing tax loopholes, $89 million through efficiencies in
state government, and $137 million in revenue collections that
are higher than projections by the legislative staff.
Gov. Easley "supports an increased investment in the
classroom and not cuts,” said his communications director,
Cari Hepp. “While he believes it is important to find
efficiencies and savings, he has said repeatedly that we
cannot let this budget shortfall become an education
shortfall."
UNC President Molly Broad said if she had to cut $125 million
in spending, the 16 campuses “would be forced to abolish
more than 1,800 positions, including over 700 faculty
positions university-wide." President Martin Lancaster
said the community college system would lose the equivalent of
452 full-time instructors if it had to reduce spending by $40
million. The community colleges also would have to raise $10.2
million by increasing tuition. The State Board of Education
said it would have to cut about 360 classroom and central
office positions.
See
the chart of possible DPI budget cuts.
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