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Senator Josh Stein, you aren't buying top 10 funding but that's what they
that's what they told us in testimony yes Kelly I was there
pretty amusing if it weren't sad they were saying that North Carolina is number
8 in state funding. Well, the way North Carolina is
is number 46 because our education is funded through state
and local money and what you need to do is look at the total pot
and we are forty-six in the amount of revenue state local
which is what we can control a North Carolina - can't control federal government
we're number 46 in the nation what we put into our schools
we're number 51, we're last including have all states including the District of
Columbia
what teachers have experienced in their pay
over the last decade they have lost in real dollars
16 percent of their income what the legislature with the governor have done
to public education
undervalue it there the lack of prioritisation
is a real problem and the fact that they're trying to come up this number
eight
shiny ball to distract this is I think pretty disconcerting
fifty-eight percent of the state budget goes to public education and that's
where that number eight rating
so you're saying by the time you count that local money local funding so low in local
school's over what the state does
teachers classrooms are suffering from the democratic perspective well our -
the way we structure our revenue system and it was developed since the
depression really and it's the exact same in transportation North Carolina spends
much higher percentage of
transportation dollars and education dollars from the state as opposed to
locals in other states
and we did that because counties could not afford to pay
for their teachers for their roads back in the depression and actually
is the right way to do it because you have much more equity if you have
Robeson County or Hoke County
and then you've Guilford County or Wake County incredible disparities between
those counties
so if we think that the state should only pay a small percentage 30 or 40
percent in the difference should be made up by the counties
what we'll have is what you see in New Jersey and Connecticut
and all the New England states we have incredible disparity from district to
district
and we don't have that here north on it that's a good day what is the answer the
if the state is number 8 in the state funding against the school's
will keep the top 10 for argument's sake there
where we find the extra money boo state funding more do you give locals a chance
to
raise school taxes and just take your lumps and desparity. Well, the locals have
the authority to
impose taxes and that's the consequences if the if they're trying to tell us
that the counties need to do more they're going to be tax increases to pay
for that
What we need to do is make the choice that the republicans didn't make
last session
they gave a half a billion dollars in this budget alone
to people who were don't do not need the tax breaks it was about
two-thirds would go to people who earn a million dollars a year
ninety percent go to people who earned top 5 percent earners people who did
well
even during the recession why give tax breaks to people who don't need it
we're eliminating teacher positions firing
thousands of teacher assistants and not giving teachers a pay
that's the choice education are tax breaks to people who don't need
right the income tax cut package tax reform package okay
going forward then, in a theoretical world, if you could drive the agenda
do you raise the percentage of the existing state budget from 58 percent
state funding on up to 60 70 80 percent or do you leave it around fifty-eight
percent
and bring in more revenue overall so that 58 percent means more money for
schools
I think that what you did the state continues to have at least the same
share of state and local funding
as what we've done before but I think the state needs to have a greater
prioritization for public education
it is the single most important thing the state of North Carolina does
educate our young people give them the skills and knowledge they need
to have a full life but also so that our businesses have a workforce that can
help them succeed
it is what will make our future and right now they are undervaluing our
future can you find extra money for schools
without that without raising taxes or economic growth or whatever we don't
even actually have to
increase taxes all you have to do is a first step
is to keep the tax cuts that are going to be coming in the future years in 2015
and 2016
don't make those happen because those tax breaks are going right into the pockets
have wealthy people who don't need the money let's just freeze those tax
the tax code where it is and then we will have more money for teachers
Josh Stein Democrat Wake County senate Minority Whip lotta titles are thank you
sir
been on-again Kelly thank you