Reforms that would allow high school students to earn two-year college degrees and increasing tuition assistance programs were among the issues outlined by Gov. Mike Easley during his State of the State Address on Monday night.
In front of a packed audience of legislators, elected leaders and guest, Easley made known his agenda on higher education issues, funded as part of a state budget proposal that relies on higher cigarette, sales, and income taxes than scheduled in the coming two fiscal years.
“We can do a better job with the money we have,” Easley said. “Our children deserve more and so do our taxpayers.”
Easley also renewed his call for a state lottery to fund education initiatives, though he did not include lottery proceeds in his budget. Two lottery referendums have been introduced in the state House, with one a statewide referendum and the other providing for local option.
Most of the educational reforms that Easley proposed during his speech centered on high school reforms, including an expansion of the Learn and Earn program. Last year, the state approved the pilot program for 15 schools. Ten more are to open during the upcoming fiscal year.
The basis of the program allows students to stay in high schools an extra year to earn two-year associates degrees. The governor’s budget includes $4.2 million in FY 2005-06 and $10.3 million in FY 2006-07 fund the expansion.
University of North Carolina President Molly Broad has raised questions about the program’s safety and academic issues as well as having students earn an associates degrees without going through the typical college admissions process.
However, Easley thinks the program will lead to a more-educated workforce and allow students the potential to earn more money in their chosen careers.
“Everybody wins,” Easley said. “Our workforce gets better skilled and more attractive. And students get a better education, and a better job.”
Easley also wants to expand another pilot program that involves community colleges and universities working together to increase the number of teachers in the state. Easley said having teachers learn close to their homes will mean that they will stay and teach their children as well.
“Now all of our university campuses will begin programs with community colleges in every corer of this state so that teachers can get their degree from a licensed university in their community and children can get the teachers they need in their schools,” Easley said. “This plan will increase the number of new teachers by 64 percent each year.” It is estimated to cost $2.5 million in the first year and $2.6 million in the second year of the biennium.
Easley proposed an increase of $5.2 million in financial aid to students to offset what he considers cuts made by the federal government that affected 15,000 North Carolina students. This is in addition to $8.7 million in expanded financial aid in the UNC system and $3.9 million in the community colleges.
“So our message to these students is simple: Stay in school and study hard,” Easley said. “Washington may leave you on the curb, but North Carolina will not. Our budget will fund what Washington shamefully cut.”
Community colleges also stood to benefit in Easley’s budget. Easley is proposing more funding, to be taken from a fund balance, for equipment needs at community colleges. He proposed $13.2 million — on top of the 2 percent across-the-board pay raise for state employees — to supplement faculty and staff salary within community colleges to move salaries closer to the national average.
“We have no choice but to provide the resources necessary to meet those demands,” Easley said.
Also in the speech, Easley commended members of the UNC Board of Governors for voting against tuition increases at various institutions across the state after consecutive years of systemwide increases. BOG members are still considering whether to increase student fees, a vote that could come at their March meeting in Chapel Hill.
“Tuition cannot go up every single year, and it will not go up in my budget,” Easley said.
Shannon Blosser ([email protected]) is a staff writer of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Chapel Hill.