The
state Senate approved its budget proposal this week and as expected
it offers nearly no support for education.
The
budget, approved along party lines in the Republican-held Senate,
falls about $135 million short of what's needed to keep current
standards. Standards, we remind you, that were already drastically
lowered during the Great Recession by about $1 billion.
Here's
a quick breakdown of the damage the Senate budget would do:
- Cut teacher assistants in second and third grades, resulting in more than 5,000 job losses.
- Increase class sizes, likely creating even more job losses.
- End raises for teachers who earn a master's degree.
- Cut $28 million for school bus replacement.
- Cut 7,500 seats from the state's early childhood education program. Some estimate that number could reach 17,500 over the next two years when an executive order made by former Gov. Bev Perdue expires.
- Provide no raises for teachers in 2013-14, but funds a $500 merit increase for some teachers in 2014-15.
Things could get
worse in the House, which is expected to include funding for a
voucher system that would use tax dollars to pay for private schools
and eliminate the mandate that lottery revenue be used only for
education.
