At a Rousing Rally on the Capitol Lawn, Hunt Signs Higher Education Bonds Bill Photo captions: Top left, NCCBI President Phil Kirk (left) and Community Colleges President Martin Lancaster (center) watch as Gov. Jim Hunt addresses the rally on the Capitol grounds. Above: House Minority Leader Richard Morgan (at podium) addresses the crowd. Left: Senate Minority Leader Patrick Ballantine is introduced by Gov. Hunt. Photos by Mike Lancaster

As hundreds of legislators, educators, students and supporters cheered their approval, Gov. Jim Hunt signed legislation Thursday that sets up the fall referendum on issuing $3.1 billion in bonds for capital improvements at UNC System campuses and the state's community colleges. “More than two centuries ago, our state took the audacious step of beginning the nation's first public system of higher education,” the governor said. “Two hundred years later, the people of North Carolina are faced with a choice. Do we keep faith with those whose vision gave us this priceless treasure, or do we let our public community colleges and universities slowly wither away?”

Hunt praised legislators for their bipartisan appoval of the Michael K. Hooker Higher Education Facilities Finance Act, which the General Assembly passed unanimously last week. House Speaker Jim Black said the the passage of the bill in the session's first two weeks “was possible because legislators, the business community and officials from the universities and the community colleges worked together in a bipartisan manner. Now we must work together to explain this critical need to the voters of North Carolina.”

Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, House Minority Leader Richard Morgan and Senate Minority Leader Patrick Ballantine also addressed the rally on the lawn of the Capitol. “The strong support from both Democrats and Republicans for this bond package shows that it is a fiscally responsible plan to improve our schools and our economy without raising taxes,” Basnight said.

As many as 50,000 new students are expected to enroll at the state's 59 community colleges over the next 10 years, state Community College System President Martin Lancaster told the rally. “Today we start to build a future for North Carolina,” he said.

NCCBI President Phil Kirk also spoke at the bill-signing ceremony. Here is the text of his remarks:

“Today is about the future, and NCCBI is pleased to be a part of this bill-signing ceremony. Education -- from early childhood and Smart Start to k-12 to community colleges to public and private colleges and universities -- is the No. 1 issue for the state's vibrant business community. We cannot have good jobs. We cannot have a good quality of life, if we do not have a sound, quality education system. The business community believes we must have high-quality facilities to produce high-quality education and high-quality graduates.

“As chairman of the State Board of Education, I will work to insure that our public school family and all of our constituencies support this bond package. I will ask the State Board of Education to pass a resolution endorsing this bond package next week. Then we will work with 117 school boards to get them to do the same.

“In 1996 NCCBI coordinated the $2.75 billion bond campaign for public schools and highways. This year we are already working hard in planning this campaign for $3.1 billion. While early polling data looks very good, we will run a full-scale, hard working campaign. We will take no vote -- for or against -- for granted. We will run as if we are 20 points behind. With your help we will be successful on Nov. 7 and our future will indeed be bright.”

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