School is back in session, and that means teachers are back in classrooms. But to hear some politicians and education bureaucrats tell the story, a lot of North Carolina teachers are out of work due to the new state budget. John Locke Foundation Director of Education Studies Terry Stoops separates fact from fiction on teaching jobs and funding, including the typical job trends and job losses that occur during summer. Then we focus specifically on public charter school reforms. North Carolina lawmakers lifted the state’s cap on public charter schools this year. Now advocates are looking ahead to other changes they would like to see in state charter school regulation. Eddie Goodall, president of the N.C. Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and Sen. Richard Stevens, R-Wake, address charter advocates’ concerns. Next is a look at a state division some folks rarely hear about and which is getting more popular. While most state agencies are coping with budget cuts this year, the General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division is adding positions. Director John Turcotte recently discussed with lawmakers the reasons for his division’s popularity with state budget writers. That’s followed by a look the sputtering economy and the need for private-sector job creation. While many taxpayers and voters have been clamoring for government to help create new jobs, that’s not government’s proper role. That’s the opinion of Duke University economist and political scientist Michael Munger. Munger discussed government’s proper role in job creation during a recent presentation to the John Locke Foundation’s Shaftesbury Society. And finally, John Locke Foundation Director of Research Michael Sanera talks about the prevalence of cities and counties investing in facilities and industries that compete with private business. Sanera discusses city-owned golf courses, other entertainment venues, and convention centers and why they fall outside the appropriate role of government and, in the process, disadvantage local businesses.
Did the State Budget Oust Thousands of Teachers?
Related
Reforming or modernizing N.C. ABC system would require major adjustments, but changes are possible, reports says
Editor’s note: This story was updated 2:15 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 11 Changing how North Carolina regulates liquor sales would require major adjustments, the state’s Program Evaluation Division says in its latest report. But big changes are possible, should lawmakers decide to make them. Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, has taken the lead on legislative efforts...
Raleigh debate over short-term rentals continues
It began with an anonymous complaint. It’s now a full-scale debate — about property rights, the free market, and, in fact, freedom of choice. Short-term rentals — Airbnbs, for example — have been banned in Raleigh for years, though enforcement of that ban has been lax as the city debates ways to regulate the industry....
North Carolina receives $6.2 million in USDA grants
North Carolina granted $6.2 million for supply chain funding.
North Carolina Declared Free of Bird Flu
North Carolina has been declared free of bird flu.