AS I SEE IT

Word Games
January 27, 2012

I have been disappointed and troubled by the false claims I have heard and read recently that the state budget provides for an increase in public school teacher positions. This claim is not only inaccurate, it is also a sign that there is a significant lack of understanding and concern for what is happening right now in public school classrooms across North Carolina.

Many who are not familiar with the public education budget may not know that teacher positions can be funded with federal, state or local dollars, or a combination of all three. So when someone claims that there has been an increase in state-funded teaching positions, that does not necessarily mean that we have more teachers than we had a year ago, it just means that we are using more state dollars to pay for them.

For example, in 2010, federal stabilization funds were used to replace $398 million in state funds in the budget. When these federal stabilization funds were gone, the General Assembly filled in *most* of that hole with state dollars. As a result, public school personnel reports show an increase in state-funded education positions from 2011-12 when compared to 2010-11 and a corresponding loss in federally- funded positions.

When you look at payroll numbers from one year to the next, say November 2010 to November 2011, you can see how positions supported from all three funding sources have changed and it is clear that teaching positions are decreasing. In fact, since the economic crisis began in 2008, there has been a decrease of 14,195 state-funded education positions overall. That means fewer adults to maintain daily operations in schools.

In 2011-12, North Carolina's public schools' budget was reduced by $459 million (in state funding), or 5.8 percent. If you add to that figure the $304 million school districts had to return as part of their discretionary reduction (more cuts to state funds), you'll see that public school budgets lost 9.3 percent in 2011-12. For 2012-13, K-12 schools are scheduled to take another more than $1 billion budget hit when the discretionary reduction increases to nearly $500 million and more than $300 million in federal funding runs out. This is the reality schools are facing now.

If you want to better understand what budget cuts are really doing to education in North Carolina, visit a school. When you talk to local teachers, principals and superintendents, you will most likely hear about students sharing textbooks, fewer course offerings, longer bus routes, a lack of funds for professional development and the list goes on. What you won't hear is talk about "state-funded" versus "federally-funded" teaching positions.

It is a shame that some have chosen to claim they have supported public education while they ignore the many struggles our schools are facing today. These word games are misleading and dishonest, and North Carolina deserves better.

Bill Harrison, Chairman
State Board of Education