Bad news for the state of our state's environment -  a House committee voted Tuesday to eliminate the state program that monitors and enforces clean air regulations at the urging of the state's major polluters.

Read the full story here.

Senate budget writers would offer $87 million more to the UNC system than their N.C. House counterparts have proposed.

But K-12 and community colleges would take a bigger hit, according to new spending targets released Tuesday by Senate officials.

As Lynn Bonner and Craig Jarvis report in today's paper, the Senate would spend about $40 million less overall on education than the House would, while apportioning that spending in different ways.

K-12 education would receive $106 million less than the House's version, while community colleges would get about $21 million less.

The lates N.C. House budget proposal has higher education officials in North Carolina breathing a cautious sigh of relief.

The plan calls for spending cuts at a lower rate than previously anticipated. Here's what the leaders of the UNC system and the state's community colleges say.

Erskine Bowles, president, UNC system:

"We are extremely grateful that House members made the very difficult decision to recommend a modest revenue package to help balance the State budget and thereby lessen deep cuts to education and other critical State services. The revenue package added to the House budget today would restore about $75 million of the cuts that had previously been assigned to the University in the first year of the biennium. As a result, our proposed net funding reduction for 2009-10 under the House plan would drop from $338 million (11.2%) to $263 million (8.7%). Across our 17 campuses, this partial restoration of funding would save 600 jobs and enable us to teach 1,300 more class sections, helping our students get the courses they need to graduate on time. This vital funding would be applied directly to the University’s academic core.

At Appalachian State University, for example, these additional dollars would save about 40 jobs—more than half of them faculty—and restore 175 class sections. Western Carolina would save another 30 jobs in an economically distressed region of the state. Elsewhere, NC Central University would save more than 20 faculty and staff jobs and 75 class sections; East Carolina University would save 75 jobs, including nursing faculty; and UNC Wilmington would save another 50 jobs and 120 course sections. Restored funds would also help soften the impact of budget cuts on critical academic and counseling services and campus safety.

While this revenue package is an important step in the right direction, we remain gravely concerned that the remaining $263 million of cuts proposed by the House would have a severe and lasting negative impact on student access and the quality of education our universities can offer our students.

This reduced cut is still greater than the current state appropriations of our six smallest campuses _combined._ If cuts of that magnitude are implemented, students on every UNC campus can still expect to see 1) larger classes; 2) less student advising and counseling; 3) higher student/faculty ratios; 4) lower retention and graduation rates; 5) delayed classroom upgrades and laboratory renovations; 6) fewer security personnel; 7) reductions in library services; and 8) reductions in maintenance. The House budget also proposes to cap our 2010-11 enrollment at current levels, resulting in thousands of North Carolina students from every walk of life being denied admission to a UNC campus.

Education is the key to North Carolina’s economic recovery. We therefore ask and encourage our legislative leaders to consider all reasonable options for further increasing State revenues."

And Scott Ralls, president of the community college system:

“Education has historically led North Carolina out of economic hardship, and House leaders have recognized the immediate, critical needs of all levels of education by developing a revenue package that restores some vital funding to K-12, community colleges and
universities. For our community colleges, these additional dollars will certainly not erase the full impact of the larger proposed cuts, but they do provide access to 3,700 more community college students and the
ability to save as many as 215 faculty and staff positions at a time when record numbers of North Carolinians are turning to their community
colleges. Additionally, restored tuition waivers allow our colleges to continue free training for designated groups including North Carolina’s essential public service professionals including local fire department, law enforcement and rescue and life-saving personnel.

“Our state’s leaders have the opportunity to carry on North Carolina’s tradition as the ‘Education State’ and to ensure that, especially in these difficult economic times, our community colleges will be able to meet the unprecedented demand for education and
retraining. All across our state, dislocated workers, new high school graduates and more are turning to our community colleges for hope and opportunity. North Carolina can’t afford for them to be turned
away.”