Education

GOP trying to bribe taxpayers to support their bad budget

By Logan Smith / August 26, 2019 / Comments Off on GOP trying to bribe taxpayers to support their bad budget

Students in most North Carolina districts are headed back to school today, but school districts still don’t know how much money to expect from the state this year because of the GOP budget standoff. Instead of using North Carolina’s $900 million budget surplus to restore public school funding and expand health care access for working…

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GOP budget standoff drags through its second month

By Eleanore Wood / August 20, 2019 / Comments Off on GOP budget standoff drags through its second month

The cost of GOP budget inaction is about $42,000 per day, or about a million dollars and counting. Legislative Republicans can either hold an override vote or return to the negotiating table, but instead, they’re doing neither while pointing fingers at the governor. Enough House Democrats have pledged to sustain Gov. Cooper’s budget veto that Republicans have…

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NC House Dems to GOP leaders: You don’t have the votes for budget override

By Eleanore Wood / August 13, 2019 / Comments Off on NC House Dems to GOP leaders: You don’t have the votes for budget override

Summer is almost over, and in a couple of weeks, kids will head back to school. But our state budget still hangs in limbo as Republicans continue to refuse to negotiate.  Last week, House Democrats published a pledge to sustain Gov. Cooper’s budget veto which was signed by 51 of 55 House Democrats — all…

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Progressives slam Brockman at budget town hall in High Point

By Logan Smith / August 6, 2019 / Comments Off on Progressives slam Brockman at budget town hall in High Point

Last week, Progress NC and a number of other organizations including the Guilford Co. Association of Educators, the NC Black Alliance, and Indivisible Guilford County, held a budget town hall in High Point with local lawmakers. Sen. Michael Garrett, Rep. Amos Quick, and Rep. Ashton Clemmons all promised to stand up for public schools by…

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GOP budget standoff holding up state employee raises, school budgets

By Eleanore Wood / July 31, 2019 / Comments Off on GOP budget standoff holding up state employee raises, school budgets

Three weeks into the GOP budget standoff, July paychecks are going out for many state employees whose pay raises are being delayed by Republican leaders’ unwillingness to negotiate. However, those paychecks aren’t the only things left in limbo by the GOP budget standoff. With the 2019-20 school year approaching, school districts are having to make…

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GOP may try to ram their budget through the General Assembly this week

By Eleanore Wood / July 25, 2019 / Comments Off on GOP may try to ram their budget through the General Assembly this week

With GOP leadership telling their caucus to expect budget votes this week, Republican lawmakers are once again trying to ram through a budget which does not address the concerns of hard-working North Carolina families or our valued educators. Instead of expanding Medicaid and investing in our schools and our students, the politicians are trying to…

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Berger leaves the country as GOP leaders refuse to negotiate budget standoff

By Eleanore Wood / July 18, 2019 / Comments Off on Berger leaves the country as GOP leaders refuse to negotiate budget standoff

North Carolina’s budget standoff continues into its third week as NC Republicans refuse to negotiate with Gov. Cooper or legislative Democrats. As of Monday, July 22nd, Gov. Cooper presented GOP leaders with a counter-offer 14 days ago. GOP response?  Zippo. Republicans won’t even come to the table. Instead of working with the governor to agree…

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Do not buy into the NC-GOP’s false choice of an “either / or” state budget

By Eleanore Wood / July 16, 2019 / Comments Off on Do not buy into the NC-GOP’s false choice of an “either / or” state budget

North Carolina has the revenue and resources for a state budget that fully funds public education, expands Medicaid, and invests in critical local projects across the state. Republicans claim the state budget can either include local projects earmarked for legislative districts across the state, or the state budget can expand Medicaid. This is a ridiculous false…

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Rep. Raymond Smith stands strong for a better budget

By Eleanore Wood / July 15, 2019 / Comments Off on Rep. Raymond Smith stands strong for a better budget

The North Carolina state budget affects our everyday lives. So it’s important that our lawmakers get it right. The current budget proposal continues to underfund our public schools. The budget proposal does NOT expand Medicaid for 634,000 NC residents. And the state budget has not been finalized. Last week the Republican House Speaker Tim Moore scheduled…

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Budget showdown continues: Which Dems are on the fence?

By Eleanore Wood / July 8, 2019 / Comments Off on Budget showdown continues: Which Dems are on the fence?

The General Assembly will likely vote on a budget veto override this week as the GOP once again tries to ram through a budget which does not address the concerns of hard-working North Carolina families or our valued educators. Instead of expanding Medicaid and investing in our schools and our students, the politicians are trying…

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