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Ongoing NC GOP debacle thread

I am cautiously optimistic, which is why I posted the story in the success stories thread. Waiting to see how they propose to pay for it, since we already heard there's another medicaid shortfall and revenues are short of projections.
 
An election year increase now doesn't mean much if they're just going to be frozen for the next several years afterwards.
 
It will also be interesting to see if that is a one year pay raise or spread over several years, in which case inflation will both help pay for it and remove part of the benefit. Still I am cautiously optimistic. Any improvement/investment in public education should be applauded no matter who suggests it.
 
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This is a thing now?

Q: So, we've got a lot of problems in this State. I'd like to know what your plan is to fix them. Can you elaborate?
A: Me? Oh man, I'm all over it. I'm going to go get some Bojangles and take a nap in public. I think that'll about do it.
 
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More details on the budget released. http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/28/3894031/questions-linger-about-funding.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1

The teacher plan looks pretty good if they can get it past the House and McCrory.

They've got a cute little spite campaign going on against Roy Cooper, trying to remove the SBI (which investigates executive and legislative corruption) from the AG's office and move it to Public Safety where the governor and legislature can control it better. Continued cutting to Public Health and Mental Health, which is already barely hanging on.
 
Here are a couple stories more appropriate for the Debacle thread.

http://www.news-record.com/news/article_a2504c34-e6d9-11e3-8423-0017a43b2370.html

RALEIGH — City leaders already were griping about the possibility that the General Assembly could limit their ability to tax businesses.
They were even less thrilled with this development: State legislators now are headed toward a total repeal of the privilege-license tax that could cost local municipalities — and save businesses — $62 million a year.
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I wonder why a business might be willing to pay a privilege tax to operate in a city with taxpayer-funded roads, parking decks, street lights, sewer, water, police and fire protection... Maybe if the privilege tax is so burdensome, the businesses could just open out in the county.


http://www.news-record.com/business/article_ae0fd7ae-e6ef-11e3-af0e-001a4bcf6878.html


“Which means that if you put it in percentage points, 40 percent of the decline in the number of unemployed people since 2010 is just people leaving the labor force,” UNCG economist Andrew Brod said.
He said if you add back the number of people who left the labor force but still are unemployed, the actual unemployment rate is 8.7 percent — well above the national rate of 6.3 percent.
Another analyst has been sounding the same alarm.
“We’ve been writing for six or eight months that most of this big unemployment drop is people falling out of the labor force because they can’t find jobs,” said Allan Freyer, a public policy analyst with the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, a Raleigh-based think tank whose mission is to promote jobs and eliminate poverty.
He said that from January 2013 through January 2014, four of every 10 unemployed workers in the state found a job — the other six stopped looking.
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http://www.wral.com/senate-budget-funds-teacher-salaries-through-other-ed-cuts/13683533/

Budget documents released late Wednesday night give details of the spending plan and suggest that cuts to teaching assistants in early-grade classrooms will pay for roughly half of the salary plan.

Senate budge writers save $233.1 million a year by cutting funding for classroom teaching assistants in kindergarten through third grade in half. The new funding formula would provide teaching assistants only in kindergarten and first grade.

Other large chunks of savings in the education arena come from the state's projection of fewer students in the classroom next year. This average daily membership, or ADM, projection allowed Senate budget writers to save $37 million because there will be fewer teachers needed. The same reduction in ADM appears to allow a $64 million cut in the funding set aside for "certified personnel."
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ADM sure as hell isn't going down in the urban areas. I'd like to see that report.

Does anyone here have inside knowledge about how teacher assistants are used in the third grade? They are absolutely critical in kindergarten, not least because the teacher has to spend tons of time doing one on one "assessments" for accountability purposes and the TA has to keep the rest of the munchkins under control. If the same "assessment" regime is required in kindergarten, its BS to pull the TAs.
 
DeacHawk said:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/28/3893750/senate-house-agree-on-measure.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1

business privilege license taxes basically gone effective 7/1/15
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1. Citizens should be prepared to pay higher property taxes as a direct result.

2. Businesses will not reduce prices for customers as a result of this legislation.

3. The "economic development" impact will be none, as clearly existing privilege license taxes have not harmed growth in Raleigh, Charlotte, etc.

Just another shift of taxes from businesses to individuals.
 
Say Hey Deac said:
1. Citizens should be prepared to pay higher property taxes as a direct result.

2. Businesses will not reduce prices for customers as a result of this legislation.

3. The "economic development" impact will be none, as clearly existing privilege license taxes have not harmed growth in Raleigh, Charlotte, etc.

Just another shift of taxes from businesses to individuals.
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I would say, just another NCGA slap at the state's municipalities, which have the audacity to vote D.
 
jhmd2000 said:
Don't let the fact that it's Berger's plan slow you down, bro. First five words of the article if you have time to come up for air.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...enate-rolls-out-teacher-pay.html#.U4ZlSrDD_IU
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This plan presented by Berger and the McCrory plan are not the same. Plus this one, once again, asks teachers to trade in their career status for the pay increase. Berger is still playing Tea Party games. I actually give McCrory some credit for his teacher pay plan. It actually makes sense. Berger's is basically bribe money that does not address the bigger problem (shocking, I know).

http://m.newsobserver.com/?cu=spreed:/16902170/35927508
 
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Deacon923 said:
ADM sure as hell isn't going down in the urban areas. I'd like to see that report.

Does anyone here have inside knowledge about how teacher assistants are used in the third grade? They are absolutely critical in kindergarten, not least because the teacher has to spend tons of time doing one on one "assessments" for accountability purposes and the TA has to keep the rest of the munchkins under control. If the same "assessment" regime is required in kindergarten, its BS to pull the TAs.
Click to expand...

Forms of these assessments continue through fifth grade.
 
WFFaithful said:
Attempting to pit educators against each other.
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So it looks like the plan is to increase teacher salary using money leftover from families fleeing NC public schools, making the job more difficult by cutting teachers' aides, and severely cutting job security by cutting tenure.

How is that a good deal for the teachers?
 
PhDeac said:
So it looks like the plan is to increase teacher salary using money leftover from families fleeing NC public schools, making the job more difficult by cutting teachers' aides, and severely cutting job security by cutting tenure.

How is that a good deal for the teachers?
Click to expand...

Step 1 in the plan was to effectively starve the teachers by not giving them raises for 5+ years, so that this plan looks appealing to some.
 
No question about that, Karma.
 
It's problematic, too, since the ending of career status for those who already attained it has already been found unconstitutional in two court cases.
 
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Deadbolt said:
It's problematic, too, since the ending of career status for those who already attained it has already been found unconstitutional in two court cases already.
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It wouldn't be unconstitutional if it were voluntary and accompanied by a raise, would it?
 
jhmd2000 said:
Largest teacher pay raise in history put on the table. The benefits of economic growth come to North Carolina public schools.
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They actually just cut TA's in half (again) to fund the majority of the teacher raises. Firing people, in my opinion, is not likely to lead to economic growth.
 
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