On Tuesday, June 28th at 7pm, Senator Josh Stein spoke about the impact of the new NC budget on the school system. All levels of public education are severly impacted - K-12, community colleges and the University system. There is a staggering net loss of jobs due to this budget, most of them in education, but also in Health Care.

Unemployment is already such a big problem, and this budget causes an expected 44,000 jobs to be cut in Education and Health Care. 'Pink slips' to cut teachers are already flying all over the state. 44,000 jobs cut overwhelms the 14,000 that will supposedly be created due to the tax cuts. This budget will significantly damage the economy, and put NC's investment in education 49th in the country. Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi are all increasing their spending on education and we're cutting ours.

The event was recorded, and should be available soon.

Meanwhile, there is a clip of Senator Stein talking on the Senate Floor about the effects of these budget cuts on education, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7OmUEgeiag It is a very powerful speech, well worth watching.

Please check it out.

Here is an update about the effects of NC's new budget on Education. These articles are from NC Policy Watch and were sent to the NC NOW group in June.

1. Article 1 The Desperate Denials Continue (6/22/11)
Two things have continued unabated since the Republicans and five rogue
Democrats in the General Assembly passed a budget last week that slashed
funding for public schools.

People in classrooms are getting fired and Republican leaders and their
propagandists are desperately denying they have anything to do with it.

The latest attempt to absolve Republican legislative leaders of any
responsibility for all the pink slips flying into teachers' mailboxes across
the state comes from the News &Observer's Rick Martinez, whose latest column
reads like an only slightly rewritten press release from the office of House
Speaker Thom Tillis.

Read more at

http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2011/06/22/the-desperate-denials-continue/

2. Article 2: "Educators tell judge legislative cuts deny access, gut programs (video)".

You can find that at

http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2011/06/23/educators-tell-judge-legislative-cuts-deny-access-gut-programs-video/#comments

At this point, Judge Manning may be the only one who can make these horrific cuts to education a little less severe.