Gov. Perdue's budget proposal protects North Carolina's legacy of investing in education.
Gov. Perdue understands that education is the foundation on which we build a successful, globally competitive North Carolina. In her proposed budget, she responsibly invests in the areas of public education that can make the most difference to our children.
North Carolina public schools enrolled 5,000 new students in the last two years, the university system added 12,000, and the community college system grew by 52,000. Growing demands on our public education system require smart, responsible investments. Educating our children means protecting our future economic success – today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce.
Therefore, Gov. Perdue minimized the across-the-board cuts applied to education systems and instead focused on consolidation and elimination of programs that are underutilized or low-performing. Then she invests in teachers and teacher assistants, enrollment growth in higher ed, and providing the resources to our community college system so they can continue to train tomorrow’s workers.
Some highlights:
K-12
-- Totally protects state-funded public school teachers and teacher assistants from reductions.
-- Career and College Promise.
-- Offers qualifying students a tuition-free 2-year degree or 2 years of career training.
-- Consolidates existing programs and nurtures relationships between high schools and community colleges.
-- Uses no new money.
Community Colleges
-- $18 million to fund enrollment growth -- 9,712 more community college students.
-- Sets aside $25 million to upgrade equipment and technology needs critical to train students for 21st century jobs.
UNC System
-- $23 million for enrollment increases in the UNC System – 2,337 more students.