North Carolina Legislature Funds Programs for Low-income
and Disadvantaged Students
Education advocates in North Carolina are enthused about
an agreement between the General Assembly and the Governor
on the $18.7 billion 2006-2007 budget, which includes
a 9.6 percent increase in K-12 education spending for
the coming school year, according to The Friday
Report published by the Public School Forum of
NC. In the new budget, adopted this month, 38 percent
of state spending is devoted to K-12 education; it includes
more money for low-wealth districts and a salary increase
for teachers and administrators, and funds a state-wide
expansion of a pilot program for disadvantaged students.
An additional $17.9 million in lottery proceeds were
also earmarked to expand the More at Four pre-kindergarten
program.
The Friday Report noted that the “low
wealth fund” created to aid poor and small districts
has never been fully funded, leading in part to the
Leandro
school finance case. Governor Mike Easley pledged to
increase funding for the low-wealth supplemental fund
last year, and the General Assembly made good on the
pledge by providing an additional $41.9 million for
the fund for next year.
Many in the education community worried that public
schools would not collect their fair share of the state-lottery
revenues, the Public School Forum writes. But including
teacher salaries, lottery receipts for smaller classes,
and school construction spending, the total public school
budget is a full $819.9 million larger than last year,
and $272.4 million larger than the 3-year average increase
in education spending plus projected lottery
proceeds.
It is important to note, the Friday Report
said, that the state education department’s K-12
budget request ($6.94 billion) exceeded the final budget
allocation by almost $220 million. But the final budget
was approximately $10-12 million more than both the
Senate’s and the Governor’s proposals.
Find the full report at: http://www.ncforum.org/doclib/friday_report/collateral/2006/2006_0707.pdf
Prepared by Charley Cummings, July 11, 2006
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