Weekend wound up

In the budget bill (S202), the revenue section contains direction to the House and Senate Finance Committees on page 238 to study revision of the tax code and recommend changes in the interim.

The thing that scares the NC GOP (and John Hood) the most is that legislative Democrats will enact tax reform and lower the tax rate before November 2010.

The real beneficiaries are the booster clubs at UNC, NC State, ECU, and Appalachian State. Those are the schools with big-time football programs. According to the N&O:

Statewide, there are 747 out-of-state athletic scholarships for the coming school year, according to the legislative staff. UNC-Chapel Hill has 139, N.C. State 133, and Appalachian State University has 112. The historically black colleges have a total of 70, less than 10 percent of the total.

Suppose instead the $10 million the state will pony up to pay for these out-of-state athletes went to keep first- and second-year teachers employed, instead of being the first ones on the downsizing chopping block? Rep. Phil Haire (D-Jackson) said it wasn't fair to the booster clubs or the athletes to change the rules in midstream. How fair is it to recently-graduated NC Teaching Fellows who are losing their jobs because of budget cuts in every school district?

And on top of that, school districts are having to retain so-called "double dipper" teachers who have retired, but were rehired because of the "teacher shortage." How much sense does that make, to turn away young, enthusiastic teachers and retain these double dippers?

Dear Ray:

Congratulations on finally passing a budget. I know that you and your colleagues worked very hard under difficult circumstances to come up with a workable plan. Yet, there are always complaints, or said another way, always room for improvement!

I have one such complaint, or suggestion for improvement. The budget keeps the recently-instituted practice of allowing athletic booster clubs at our university system institutions to pay in-state tuition for out-of-state scholarship athletes. At $10 million a year, this practice is innocent enough during normal budget times.

However, here in Haywood County, we are losing among the brightest and best of our school teachers to budget cuts. And the brightest and best are recently-graduated NC Teacher Fellows and other young, enthusiastic classroom teachers who, because of their lack of tenure, are seeing the axe fall on their jobs. At the same time, the "double-dipping" practice of rehiring retired teachers seems to remain in place, keeping around teachers who had decided to retire but returned to the classroom in the face of "teacher shortages."

Rep. Phil Haire was quoted recently in the News & Observer as saying that it wouldn't be fair to the athletic programs or the universities to change the rules at this late date, as they already had their athletic rosters filled for the coming year. Yet school districts across the state have been waiting for at least a month for the General Assembly to come up with a budget, so that they could finalize faculty numbers and other important budget driven items. And these Teacher Fellows are certainly puzzled and frustrated in the face of a requirement to teach for five years, or repay their scholarships, and then find their names on the "contracts not renewed" list in the school board minutes.

If our state budget reflects our values, it seems that this is one area where the values are out of touch with those of most North Carolinians. Having lived here for nearly 25 years, I understand our passion for ACC basketball and other sports, but I also believe that most people, looking at these two issues side-by-side, would come down in favor of our teachers. And I really don't have a dog in the ACC fight, as I am a graduate of the US Naval Academy. BEAT ARMY!

I realize that this is a done deal for this budget cycle, and I appreciate the opportunity to voice my frustration. And I do appreciate the hard work you do for us in Raleigh. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of service.